Europe

One of the most popular electric bicycle manufacturing companies in the Netherlands, Stella, has requested protection from its creditors as the business is struggling financially, the Financeele Dagblad reported on Tuesday, according to the NL Times. The fate of the company’s 440 employees and 50 retail outlets is now up in the air. The move to defer payments can often lead to a Dutch company declaring bankruptcy. Stella’s parent, investment firm DMEP, has said that they think it would be irresponsible to invest more money into the company.

Rachel Reeves’ big fiscal feast risks giving the Bank of England indigestion, Reuters reported. The new Labour finance minister’s decision to hike spending, taxes and borrowing in the budget will provide a short-lived boost to growth next year. But it will also reduce BoE Governor Andrew Bailey’s ability to cut rates and keep pace with his European and U.S. counterparts. Reeves’ plan to reduce economic slack but may leave Bailey without any of his own. Her budget will raise spending by 70 billion pounds a year until 2030, according to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

French investigators raided offices of the French soccer league and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners on Tuesday as part of an investigation into possible corruption and embezzlement related to an investment deal, a judicial official said, the Associated Press reported. The searches took place amid an investigation that opened in July into charges of misappropriation of public funds, active and passive corruption of a public official and illegal taking of interest, the judicial official told the Associated Press.

Dutch retailer Blokker was granted a moratorium on payment on Monday morning, reports Ynse Stapert, CEO of parent company Mirage Retail Group, Retail Detail reported. Though some 400 shops remain open for now, the webshop is closed. In a press release, Blokker confirms the report of business magazine Quote, which said last Friday that the chain had applied for a moratorium. Possibly this means the end for the household chain; after all, such a procedure often leads to bankruptcy. An administrator will work with Blokker’s management to investigate whether the company can restart.

Trustees of Corporate Commercial Bank, currently in bankruptcy, announced the commencement of payments to creditors starting at 09:00 on November 5, 2024, novinite.com reported. This will involve amounts from the sixth partial account for distributing accepted receivables, totaling 30 million leva, as reported in a letter to BTA. The disbursement will take place through the branch network of Investbank AD. Creditors receiving funds will be responsible for any applicable fees and commissions, which will follow Investbank’s standard tariff for such operations.

The office of Official Receiver is 140 years old this year, marking a history that has evolved from administering personal bankruptcies to overseeing major company liquidations and securing bankruptcy restrictions against people who pose a threat to the public through financial wrongdoing, according to a U.K. government release. The Insolvency Service has 16 Official Receivers based across 16 locations in England and Wales, who act as trustees in people’s bankruptcies and liquidate companies that have been wound up, with the backing of hundreds of support staff.

German air-taxi maker Lilium said on Monday it would file for insolvency "soon," after efforts to solve its cash-crisis failed to yield results, Reuters reported. The move highlights the difficulties faced by startup aviation firms in an industry that is capital intensive and has high entry barriers. It also comes as air-taxi makers navigate challenges in developing batteries powerful enough for their aircraft and convincing the public of their safety, even as they deal with an evolving regulatory environment.

The British government announced plans to raise the cost of university tuition fees for domestic students in England on Monday for the first time in eight years, in an attempt to improve the finances of many crisis-hit institutions, Reuters reported. Nearly half of British universities are expected to record a loss this year because of a long freeze in the price of fees and a decline in lucrative overseas postgraduate students following an immigration crackdown by the last government.

The Bank of England may extinguish hopes of a shift to quicker interest-rate cuts this week after the budget reignited inflation concerns and triggered a selloff in U.K. bonds that evoked memories of the 2022 market meltdown, Bloomberg reported. Economists and traders expect the Monetary Policy Committee to push ahead with only the second rate cut this year on Thursday, lowering the benchmark rate by a quarter point to 4.75%.