Officials overseeing the wind-down of Stenn Technologies, the U.K. invoice-finance firm backed by Wall Street investors, have recovered about one tenth of the funds owed so far as they continue to probe the circumstances of its collapse, Bloomberg News reported. Stenn was owed roughly $1 billion in short-term invoices at the point of its Dec. 2024 insolvency. Administrators at Interpath Advisory managing the firm’s failed UK subsidiaries have obtained £93 million ($125 million) since then, according to their latest reports.

British consumers’ spending on food shored up revenue for U.K. retailers over a Christmas shopping season clouded by weak outlay on other goods, the Wall Street Journal reported. Tesco and Marks & Spencer on Thursday reported sales for the festive period, a key time for the sector, that showed stronger performance in food than in clothes and other goods. Many U.K. grocers see their biggest share of sales during the period and make use of promotions and discounts for a boost. Grocery sales have been a bright spot in retail, with U.K.

Administrators at Begbies Traynor confirmed the extension on Monday (5 January), following a previous year-long extension in November 2024, ConstructionWave.co.uk reported. This latest extension could see the administration process continue until February 2029. Based in Romford, Readie Construction employed 260 staff and specialised in new builds, refurbishments, and fit-outs.

The owners of Southend United Football Club say they expect to write off funds owed to them by the side's former owner, BBC.com reported. Ron Martin, who owned the club 1998-2024, was made bankrupt following a hearing at the Chief Insolvency and Companies Court on Tuesday. A consortium, Custodians of Southend United (Cosu), completed a lengthy takeover of the National League side in May 2024, after it came close to extinction.

The UK is in “a slow but consequential transition”, said authors of a new report from the Resolution Foundation, according to EuroNews.com. “Fewer people of working age; a more fragile politics; higher taxes; and an economy that urgently needs new firms and new jobs to replace the old.” Since the financial crisis in 2008, the UK has struggled to use its resources effectively, meaning it has fallen behind competitors in terms of productivity.

High street chains Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) are being put into administration, after their owner said “last-ditch” measures had fallen through, putting about 2,500 UK staff at risk of redundancy. The two retailers had already undergone restructuring and were bought by investment firm Modella Capital last year. Modella said it had made the “tough decision” to kickstart insolvency proceedings for the businesses. It will mean 1,355 employees in the UK and Ireland at 154 Claire’s shops will be put at risk, and 1,220 staff across 140 TOFS’ stores.

Claire’s Accessories is on the brink of collapse for the second time in six months after it was struck by Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, The Telegraph reported. The jewelery and accessories chain has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk just days into the new year. Fresh turmoil comes just months after Claire’s Accessories collapsed into administration before being rescued in September.

An American oil and gas giant is preparing to mothball one of Britain’s last remaining oil refineries after buying the business out of administration, The Telegraph reported. The Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, one of the last five major oil refineries in the country, will not restart standalone operations after it was sold to Phillips 66 on Monday. The Texas-based oil and gas giant said that the site’s limited size meant it was “not viable in current form”, instead claiming it would integrate some smaller parts of the site into its nearby Humber refinery.

HSBC has started bankruptcy petitions against the brothers Aidan and Howard Barclay amid large debts owed from the family’s collapsed logistics business, The Times reported. The bank filed the cases in the High Court in December against Aidan Barclay, 69, and Howard Barclay, 66, senior members of the Barclay family whose business empire had dramatically unravelled in recent years. HSBC retrieved only about £1.1 million of its £143.5 million secured loan from the administration of Logistics Group.

Hundreds of British hospitality workers face losing their jobs in the coming days as the owner of TGI Fridays finalises plans to buy back a slimmed-down version of one of Britain's best-known casual dining chains, Sky News reported. Sugarloaf TGIF Management, which only took control of TGI Fridays two months ago, is preparing to implement a pre-pack administration of the business in a deal which is expected to take place next week. Insiders said that a transaction was expected to involve the closure of a significant proportion of the estate's 49 restaurants.