An Austrian court convicted former property billionaire Rene Benko of insolvency-related fraud on Wednesday in his first criminal trial linked to the collapse of his real estate group Signa, sentencing him to two years in prison, Reuters reported. The case stems from a sweeping investigation into crimes prosecutors suspect were committed in connection with Signa's collapse starting in 2023, which was the biggest postwar bankruptcy in Austria and burnt investors across Europe, including blue-chip companies in Germany and Switzerland.

The number of companies sliding into insolvency in Germany rose by 10.4 per cent in September compared to the year before, according to preliminary data, the Brussels Signal reported. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on October 13. The final tally for July – which was published on the same date – shows that insolvency rose by 13.4 per cent year-on-year in the month. The preliminary data is based on insolvency announcements from German courts that are later complemented by official statistics to arrive at the final number.

Archer Aviation has emerged as the winning bidder for Lilium’s extensive portfolio of advanced air mobility patents, ZagDaily.com reported. The California-based company has secured around 300 intellectual property assets for €18 million following a competitive process that also involved Joby Aviation and the Ambitious Air Mobility Group (AAMG). Announced at the NBAA Business Aviation Convention in Las Vegas, the deal marks the latest chapter in Lilium’s drawn-out insolvency proceedings and underscores the growing consolidation in the advanced air mobility (AAM) sector.

The former owner of Thames Water has expanded its sprawling network of UK assets by taking control of London City Airport, The Telegraph reported. Australian investment giant Macquarie is to acquire a further 50pc stake in the capital’s business travel hub, just four months after acquiring an initial 25pc. While the value of the London City deal was not disclosed, it is believed to be worth billions of pounds and comes after Macquarie announced plans last year to invest £20bn in the UK.

Bankruptcies continued to decline in September, according to Statistics Netherlands, the NL Times reported. A total of 276 companies went bankrupt last month, 97 fewer than in September of the previous year, a 26 percent drop. Compared with August, the number of bankruptcies decreased by 1 percent. In September, the bankruptcy rate, measuring the number of bankruptcies per 100,000 companies, stood at 7.5. This compares with 10.3 per 100,000 companies a year earlier.

Swiss private bank Julius Baer is facing significant credit losses after financing real estate projects linked to Germany's now-insolvent Degag Group, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Monday. The bank has filed claims for 48 million euros ($55.74 million), which exceeds its 2023 profit in Germany, the paper said, citing a preliminary report to the insolvency administrator. The matter is a blow for Julius Baer, which last year reported losses of 586 million Swiss francs on loans to collapsed property company Signa.

Quantuma’s Andrew Watling and Duncan Beat, the joint liquidators of La Perla, which traded as Global Management (UK) Limited, have finalised the sale of the lingerie business and its Italian factory to American billionaire businessman Peter Kern, who is the former CEO of Expedia travel group, Business & Accountancy Daily reported. The business first faced problems in 2023 when HMRC issued a winding up order due to a £2.8m unpaid tax bill forcing the business to the wall.

Swiss authorities' 2023 decision to write off 16.5 billion Swiss francs ($20.53 billion) in Credit Suisse bonds was unlawful, a court said on Tuesday, raising fresh questions about how the bank's rescue and subsequent takeover by UBS was handled, Reuters reported. The March 2023 decision by market regulator FINMA to wipe out Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds during the state-engineered takeover by its old rival UBS triggered an investor backlash and legal challenges. In a partial decision, the court said the 2023 AT1 bond write-off lacked a legal basis.

The U.K.’s labor market loosened a little in the three months through August, with unemployment creeping up and wage growth slowing, as firms continued to hold back from hiring, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.8%, from 4.7% in the three months through July, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. The jobless rate, which has slowly risen from a low of 4.0% in the summer of 2024, was higher than consensus expectations from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal that it would stay the same.