Cineworld Group said on Thursday that Eduardo Acuna, who runs the Americas operations of Mexican theatre operator Cinepolis, will become its CEO when the company emerges from bankruptcy proceedings, expected this month, Reuters reported. The group, which filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection in September, said lenders had agreed to appoint Acuna as CEO of the newly formed parent company after its restructuring plan becomes effective. Shares in London-listed Cineworld were trading up 11% at 0.4 pence by 1145 GMT, but remain more than 99% below their all-time high of 310.7 pence hit in 2017.

Real estate was the most distressed sector in Europe in the second quarter of the year, driven by rising pressure on liquidity, softer investment metrics and squeezed profitability, Bloomberg News reported. Higher interest rates, increased debt servicing costs and a fall in demand for office space “is putting intense pressure on the market,” according to the Weil European Distress Index report. The study, by law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, aggregates data from more than 3,750 listed European firms.

Britain’s public finances are on an unsustainable path and rapidly deteriorating, the Treasury’s fiscal watchdog said in a report that highlighted multi-billion-pound demands for spending on defense, climate and health, Bloomberg News reported. The Office for Budget Responsibility said in its fiscal risks report that UK public debt will soar to more than 300% of gross domestic product by 2072-73, a scenario deemed “optimistic” given the threat of future shocks.

Non-league Southend United have been given more time to clear a £275,000 tax debt, YahooFinance.com reported. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued a winding-up petition. A judge in a specialist court was told on Wednesday that a sale of the club was in progress. Judge Sally Barber, who oversaw a hearing in the Insolvency and Companies Court hearing at the Rolls Building in central London, said the case would be reconsidered in six weeks. She was told by Southend chairman Ron Martin that more time was needed to complete the sale of the club and clear the debt.

In the race to win control for debt-laden supermarket operator Casino Guichard-Perrachon, the two bidders are working on how to charm creditors, the company and the government after laying out their initial plans, Bloomberg News reported. The groups — 3F, formed by banker Matthieu Pigasse, telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and retail entrepreneur Moez-Alexandre Zouari, and a rival composed of Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière’s Fimalac — have until Friday to improve their bids.

Britain's economy is so far proving resilient to a surge in interest rates over the past year and a half, but it will take time for the full impact to feed through, the Bank of England said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The Bank last month raised rates to 5%, up from 0.1% at the end of 2021, raising concerns about a hit to households, businesses and the broader financial sector that could push the economy into a recession. But in a half-yearly assessment of the health of the financial system, the BoE said there was no reason for alarm.

Three decades ago, London remade a derelict shipping yard at Canary Wharf into a forest of glass-and-concrete skyscrapers in a bid to mimic U.S. financial hubs. Now the 128-acre banking district east of central London is suffering a problem also plaguing U.S. cities: emptying office buildings, the Wall Street Journal reported. Last month, HSBC Holdings, the U.K.’s largest financial firm, said it was leaving its 1.1-million-square-foot headquarters, known as the HSBC Tower, for a smaller building in central London.

Britain’s so-called “zombie” companies are being wiped out by the inflation crisis and rising interest rates, according to the head of bankruptcy specialist Begbies Traynor Group Plc, Bloomberg News reported. “Over the next 18 months, we’ll see virtually all of them finally come to an end,” Ric Traynor, its executive chairman, said in an interview. Economists define zombies as companies barely able to service their debts, but which have been kept afloat by years of cheap borrowing costs. Insolvencies across England and Wales have risen toward levels last seen in 2009.

A key measure of British wages rose at the joint fastest pace on record but official data also showed signs that the inflationary heat in the labour market is cooling, offering the prospect of relief for the Bank of England, Reuters reported. Sterling edged up but yields on two-year British government bonds, which are sensitive to speculation about interest rates, fell sharply, suggesting investors were dialling back their bets on how much higher the BoE would go with its run of rate hikes. "There were some tentative signs that the labour market may be turning....

Deutsche Bank said on Tuesday that it now expects the Bank of England to raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its August meeting, Reuters reported. Data released earlier in the day showed a key measure of British wages rose at the joint fastest pace on record. "For now, evidence of still more persistent wage pressures will keep the MPC's foot on the accelerator," Deutsche said in a note, referring to the BoE's rate setting body. "A second consecutive 50-bp hike now looks more likely than not.