Many subsidiaries of the shoe brand Van Lier have been declared bankrupt, according to the Zeeland-West-Brabant court, the NL Times reported. It had previously been reported that the company was facing financial difficulties. It is not immediately clear how extensive the bankruptcy is. On the website of the alternative exchange Bondex, the company states that the parent company VANLIER b.v. is not bankrupt, but bankruptcy has been declared for subsidiaries Van Lier b.v., Van Lier Amsterdam, and Van Lier Shoes b.v.

An esports company backed by David Beckham has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace, City AM reported. Guild Esports, which owns a multi-story gaming venue in Shoreditch, is seeking offers from prospective buyers with a bid deadline of Friday. Founded in 2018, the company employed esports teams which competed in popular gaming tournaments such as Fortnite and FC25. It also had partnerships with Sky Broadband and Subway.

Norway’s central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged Thursday as inflation remains above target, but it continued to hint at further easing later this year to avoid constraining the economy more than necessary, the Wall Street Journal reported. After surprising with a quarter-point cut at its last meeting, policymakers said in a statement that inflation is still too high and a restrictive monetary policy is still needed for now. “The job of tackling inflation has not been fully completed,” Gov. Ida Wolden Bache said.

European industry felt the effects of the pullback of tariff frontrunning in June, as industrial production declined more than expected, the Wall Street Journal reported. Industrial production fell 1.3% on month in June, more than reversing the 1.1% increase in May, Eurostat data showed Thursday. The data highlights that the boost to production from U.S. firms’ stockpiling of European goods to get ahead of expected tariffs has now faded.

The U.K. economy defied US tariff pressures in the second quarter, expanding by 0.3% and outpacing most G7 peers despite a slowdown from the optimistic 0.7% growth seen earlier in the year, EuroNews.com reported. Strong performances in the services and construction sector helped drive the gains, offsetting a drop in manufacturing and other production sectors. Compared with the same period last year, the economy expanded by 1.2%.

British goods exports to the United States fell to their lowest level in more than three years in June, according to official data published on Thursday that showed the hit from U.S. President Donald Trump's initial import tariff blitz, Reuters reported. Sales of British goods to the United States fell to 3.9 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) during the month, down by 0.7 billion pounds from May and about 20% lower than a monthly average of 4.9 billion pounds in 2024.

More than 2,150 jobs are at risk after the UK business of struggling jewellery chain Claire's called in administrators, Reuters reported. Insolvency practitioners Interpath said on Wednesday they had been appointed joint administrators to Claire’s Accessories UK Ltd, the operator of Claire's 306 stores across the UK and Ireland. The move comes a week after its parent filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. Headquartered in Birmingham, central England, Claire's is known for its trend-led accessories and as a destination for ear piercing.

Statistics Netherlands reports that, adjusted for court days, 299 businesses (including sole proprietorships) were declared bankrupt in July, CBS.nl reported. That was 109 fewer than in the same month in 2024, a decrease of 27 percent. The number of bankruptcies fell by 4 percent in July, relative to June. The bankruptcy rate, the number of bankruptcies per 100 thousand businesses, was 8.1 in July 2025. In July 2024, 11.3 per 100 thousand businesses were declared bankrupt. Since the start of the series in 2015, the bankruptcy rate peaked at 24.8 in March 2015.

German banks’ asset quality will come under pressure from rising corporate insolvencies in the coming months amid a challenging macroeconomic environment and persistent high interest rates, Fitch Ratings says. Fitch expects banks’ exposure to vulnerable sectors and anaemic economic growth to result in heightened credit losses in corporate and SME loan portfolios.