Vonovia’s enforcement of a pledge to gain 20.5% of Adler Group shares from Aggregate Holdings suggests how precarious the liquidity situation has become for Aggregate. The troubled German real estate firm has since tried to reassure investors that this doesn’t constitute a cross default, but it didn’t stop its bonds trading down by up to 20 points to around 50, at Wednesday’s close. The inability to post contractually agreed cash collateral and the crystallisation of a substantial loss to book value of the stake raises questions over possible maintenance covenant breaches, and its ability to meet other obligations. The cross-default provision in Aggregate’s 2025 bonds may also be at issue, and requires interpretation of the precise wording of the German law docs.