The Swiss parent company of STA Travel has filed for insolvency but says “day to day operations may continue” at subsidiaries including the UK business, Travel Weekly reported. STA Travel Holding AG is the holding company of the youth travel specialist which is owned by Diethelm Keller Holding (DKH). Administrators are due to be appointed to determine the “next steps” for the holding company, but the firm confirmed the process applies only to the Swiss business and not to STA Travel in the UK, which has 52 stores and an Atol licence to carry more than 34,000 passengers a year.

Offshore oil servicers are going bust at the fastest pace in three years as explorers spurn high-cost drilling to deal with a worldwide slump in commodity prices, Bloomberg News reported. The debacle, triggered by the pandemic-driven drop in oil prices, has already claimed some of the biggest companies that supply rigs, transportation and other support services to deep-water drillers. Noble Corp. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. have filed for Chapter 11 since the start of the pandemic-driven oil downturn, while Valaris Plc filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. Firms including Transocean Ltd.

There’s mounting scrutiny over the state-owned parent of BMW AG’s joint venture partner in China, Brilliance Auto Group Holdings Co. Investors are increasingly concerned about the Liaoning-based firm’s capacity to juggle its debt load as the pandemic weighs on profits, Bloomberg News reported. Concern is growing about the financial health of Brilliance Auto, the parent of Hong Kong-listed Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., which manufactures vehicles with the German carmaker in China via a joint venture.

The default rate among junk-rated European companies will more than double by June 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic brings about “arguably the most pronounced deterioration in credit quality ever”, credit ratings firm S&P Global said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Its warning comes amid a borrowing binge by companies raising money to ride out a massive slowdown in economic activity caused by lockdown measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Wirecard is to be deleted from Germany’s blue-chip Dax index, weeks after the payments provider’s spectacular collapse into insolvency following the revelation of a long-running fraud, the Financial Times reported. Once the country’s most celebrated financial tech group, Wirecard was first promoted to the Dax — which contains Germany’s 30 leading companies — in 2018, when it replaced the ailing Commerzbank.

Piaggio Aerospace, which entered extraordinary receivership in late 2018, has lined up €30 million ($35.79 million) in new financing, clearing the way for the Italian manufacturer of the Avanti Evo pusher turboprop to fully resume operations and continue the effort to find a buyer, Aviation International News reported. The financing agreement with Banca lfis follows approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the approval of the Supervisory Committee.

The U.K. is entering a critical phase in the coronavirus crisis that could shape the future of its economy long after the pandemic is gone, Bloomberg News reported. Employers are anxiously awaiting to see whether mounting pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will force him to reverse course on plans to phase out wage-support programs. That would echo a proposal this week by Germany, where the finance minister wants to extend support to 24 months.

Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian’s Swedish division has been denied a credit guarantee by the Swedish national debt office, FlightGlobal reported. The office states that it has “decided to reject” the application because guarantees can only be granted to airlines considered financially viable on 31 December 2019. It says there was a “very high risk” at the time – even before the air transport downturn – that Norwegian would not be able to meet its financial obligations, and that it would not be able to manage further debt.

Privately held restaurant group PizzaExpress said on Tuesday it would close 73 restaurants in the UK, impacting 1,100 jobs, as coronavirus lockdowns and higher costs hurt its business, Reuters reoprted. The UK-based restaurant chain said it has launched a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to improve its finances by reducing rental agreements and temporarily moving from quarterly to monthly rents. “Hard as this process is, it will protect the jobs of over 9,000 of our colleagues,” Zoe Bowley, the company’s UK and Ireland managing director, said in a statement.

Troubled Spanish renewables firm Abengoa has begun preliminary insolvency proceedings for part of its business in an ongoing restructuring process, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Abengoa said the measure would give it more time to finalise negotiations with creditors and protect the interests of its shareholders. The proceedings relate to Abengoa SA, an entity that was already earmarked to be dissolved as part of the restructuring.