Britain’s sparsely populated offices have put the economy in a quandary. The dry cleaners, coffee shops, lunch places and clothing retailers specializing in suits that serve areas packed with offices are starved of their customers, the International New York Times reported. In a country that relies on consumer spending to fuel economic growth, the government and business lobby are urging people to return to their offices, pressuring civil servants to set an example, and in turn spend more money on food and travel and in city center shops.

Financial investor KKR is injecting 125 million euros ($147 million) in additional capital into crisis-hit Swiss snack machine operator Selecta under a debt restructuring agreement, Reuters reported. In addition, outstanding bonds would be converted into securities that would not mature until 2026 in a move that will significantly reduce the company's high level of indebtedness, Selecta said (here) in a statement released late on Tuesday. Major shareholder KKR, creditor banks and a substantial portion of the bondholders had agreed to the recapitalisation.

Lloyds Banking Group has announced its first round of job cuts since putting restructuring plans on hold at the start of the pandemic, the Financial Times reported. The UK’s largest high street lender said it would eliminate 865 roles, starting in November, which would be partially offset by the creation of 226 new positions elsewhere in the business. The reductions will not affect any branches, with the bulk of the losses focused on roles in Lloyds’ insurance and wealth division that were no longer needed after the creation of a new joint venture with Schroders.

Shares in Europcar tumbled 30% in early trading on Tuesday, after the car rental group, battered by the coronavirus pandemic as travel dwindles worldwide, said it aimed to try and restructure its debts, Reuters reported. Most companies exposed to the tourism sector and other industries hit the hardest by the crisis made it through the first few months of the pandemic, thanks in part to government aid, such as state-backed loans. But some are now reaching a crunch point which is forcing them to address their debt piles.

Struggling British fashion retailer New Look warned on Wednesday it would be forced to consider “less favourable alternatives” if unsecured creditors do not support its latest restructuring plan, potentially putting about 11,000 jobs at risk, Reuters reported. A New Look spokesman declined to comment on what the alternatives would be. However, analysts see administration or liquidation as likely.

Tullow Oil warned it risked defaulting on a debt facility if it does not resolve a potential liquidity shortfall, as the Africa-focused explorer slumped to a $1.4bn pre-tax loss for the first half of the year, the Financial Times reported. The London-listed company said on Wednesday that a “potential liquidity shortfall” threatened its ability to satisfy requirements at a “redetermination” next January of its reserves-based lending facility.

ED&F Man, one of London’s oldest commodities brokers, has restructured nearly $1.5bn of debt and raised an extra $320m in working capital from lenders, staving off a funding crunch, the Financial Times reported. A judge at the English High Court approved on Wednesday the company’s plan to switch its debt, held in credit facilities that mature in the next two weeks, into new secured loans and notes that come due over the next three years. The changes will be made through a scheme of arrangement.

One in five U.K. companies is a “zombie,” with profits only just covering debt interest payments, according to a report by an influential Conservative think tank, Bloomberg News reported.

PizzaExpress’s creditors approved a company proposal to cut rents and shut 73 of its U.K. restaurants as part of the chain’s effort to fix its finances amid the economic slump, Bloomberg News reported. The plan will put 1,100 job at risk. Almost 90% of the firm creditors and a majority of landlords supported a so-called Company Voluntary Arrangement proposed by the company, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. The deal paves the way for a financial restructuring which will see owner Hony Capital ceding control of operations, except for China, to creditors.

Norwegian Air, which is attempting to secure a second round of financial restructuring, saw a 91% decline in August passenger volume from a year earlier as most of its fleet remained grounded by the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Friday, Reuters reported. The budget carrier has said it will fly 25-30 of its aircraft in the months ahead, while more than 100 remain parked. Creditors and lessors took control of Norwegian in May with a financial rescue that allowed it to access state-guaranteed loans of 3 billion Norwegian crowns ($336 million) and thus prevent a collapse.