CORUS, the beleaguered Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, suffered another blow yesterday when Moody’s, the credit rating agency, cut its rating by four notches.

Moody’s downgraded the rating of Corus’s senior unsecured bond from Ba2 to B3 because of the “challenging situation” of the company’s attempts to extend its credit facilities and because of its continuing losses. The agency said it was also concerned about the rift between the British and Dutch sides of the business.

Corus’s shares fell ½p to 8¾p and City analysts said they were unsurprised by the move.

Matthew Little, of Bear Stearns, said: “With the situation remaining highly fluid at Corus and its survival largely dependent upon the extent and terms of support that its bankers are willing to offer, traditional credit ratings are largely academic for this type of special situation.”

The downgrade comes as Corus is braced for a Europe-wide day of protests by unions on Monday. They are seeking the resignation of Sir Brian Moffat, chairman, whom they blame for much of the group’s difficulty.

Last month Tony Pedder, chief executive, resigned after failing to win crucial Dutch agreement for the sale of Corus’s aluminium operation. Mr Pedder’s decision to go came 18 months after joint Dutch and British chief executives resigned over disagreements about the way forward for the business. Sir Brian has delayed his retirement until a new chief executive is found.

After a succession of people at the top who have spent all their lives in steel, Sir Brian has said that the new appointment will come from outside the business.

Corus is currently deciding what parts of its UK business to cut. It has said that it will implement substantial cuts to try to stem UK losses. It is thought that Corus has also been in negotiations with potential buyers, such as LNM, a company owned by the controversial Lakshmi Mittal.

Corus has cut 10,000 jobs in the UK since it was formed four years ago by the merger of British Steel and the Dutch steelmaker Hoogovens.

The company is also in intensive talks with its banks to try to renegotiate a £1.4 billion syndicated loan due to expire next year. In addition, it is trying to secure backing from the banks to revamp the UK facilities that it plans to keep. It is thought that the group plans to increase capacity at its remaining plants once it has decided on which will be closed.