German perfume retailer Douglas is preparing for a financial restructuring in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic hits its business and its debt nears maturity, two people familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported. Once the important Christmas season is over, the company will kick off talks with its creditors on options including a refinancing, a deal to amend and extend maturities or a debt-for-equity swap, the sources said. Douglas’ outstanding loans and bonds mature from February 2022. In total, the company’s net debt stood at 2.1 billion euros ($2.5 billion) as of June 2020.

Losses at Ted Baker, the upmarket UK fashion brand, have ballooned during the pandemic as it was forced into heavy discounting to offset the slump in sales, the Financial Times reported. The chain, which this year launched a turnround after a series of profit warnings, on Monday said pre-tax losses almost quadrupled, increasing more than £63m to £86m in the six months ending August. Sales over the period dropped 46 per cent year on year to £170m.

Billionaire Mike Ashley and advisers to Debenhams are in talks about a takeover deal that could value the troubled U.K. retailer at more than 200 million pounds ($269 million)…Bloomberg News reported. If the deal goes through, Ashley’s Frasers Group would operate Debenhams’ 124 stores under 12-month licenses and could save up to 12,000 jobs, according to the newspaper. The valuation would depend on how much stock is left.

Norwegian Air, which has filed for bankruptcy protection in Ireland, has reported a 95 per cent collapse in passenger numbers in November, The Irish Times reported. The troubled carrier said 124,481 customers flew with it last month as travel restricions across Europe continued to decimate air travel. The airline is flying just six of its aircraft, as the pandemic has grounded the remaining 134. “The pandemic continues to have a negative impact on our business as travel restrictions remain,” chief executive Jacob Schram said.

Ann Summers has launched an insolvency process to slash rents, as the sex toy and lingerie retailer fights to survive the hit to high streets caused by the pandemic, the Financial Times reported. The UK chain on Friday announced plans for a company voluntary agreement, which often ends with landlords agreeing hefty rent cuts. It said rents for two-thirds of its 91 stores had been cut after “extensive discussions” with landlords. But it had failed to reach an agreement on 25 stores, which it was now proposing to place under the CVA to negotiate rents pegged to sales.

German prosecutors on Friday opened an investigation into partners at EY who audited Wirecard , after an accounting watchdog filed a report accusing them of criminality in their work for the failed payments company, Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for the Munich prosecutor’s office said it had examined the complaint brought by the APAS oversight board, adding that opening such an investigation was a procedural requirement. “We continue to conduct our investigations in the entire Wirecard complex against numerous suspects,” the spokeswoman said, adding the outcome of the inquiries was open.

Global debt is set to reach $200 trillion, or 265% of the world’s annual economic output, by the end of the year, S&P Global has forecast - although it doesn’t expect a crisis any time soon, Reuters reported. The credit ratings giant said it amounted to a 14-point rise as a percentage of world GDP, having been amplified by both the economic plunge caused by COVID and the extra borrowing that governments, firms and households have had to resort to. “Global debt-to-GDP has been trending up for many years; the pandemic simply exacerbated the rise,” S&P’s report said.

The Queen’s purse has been hit by a string of company collapses including PizzaExpress and New Look, showing that even royal finances are not immune from the turmoil on the UK’s high streets, the Financial Times reported. The Crown Estate, which manages the monarchy’s £13.4bn commercial property portfolio in the public interest, has suffered as retailers and casual dining chains restructure after pandemic lockdowns and restrictions crushed earnings, plunging many companies into administration.

Economic activity in Spain and Italy’s services sector has hit a six-month low according to a widely watched business survey, as consumer companies bear the brunt of lockdowns to battle the spread of coronavirus, the Financial Times reported. Italy’s IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index for services fell for the third consecutive month to 39.4 in November, while the Spanish index fell for the fourth consecutive month to 39.5. A reading below the 50 mark indicates that a majority of businesses reported a contraction in activity from the previous month.

As with Japan in the 1990s, years of low — and even negative — interest rates in the eurozone have led to suspicions that the region’s business landscape is harbouring a load of zombie firms, the Financial Times reported. That is, companies that are being kept artificially alive by the repeated extension of credit. Many have tried to place the blame on the European Central Bank’s aggressive easing for the phenomenon, which critics say stymies longer-term growth prospects because it keeps capital and labour locked into inefficient parts of the economy and chokes innovation.