A group of current and former Vodafone franchisees in the UK filed a legal claim against the company on Tuesday over alleged cuts to their commission payments and remuneration at short notice and with little to no explanation since 2020, Reuters reported. Some of the 61 claimants, who are seeking over 120 million pounds ($153.05 million), said in a statement that Vodafone's actions had caused them and their families severe financial and personal distress, including reaching the edge of bankruptcy.

The leader of Dudley Council has said "unpopular measures" will save his authority from the risk of effective bankruptcy, BBC.com reported. Patrick Harley told BBC Politics Midlands that a tough budget for next year would allow the council to build rather than deplete its reserves. But he accepted measures such as charging for green waste collections, scrapping free car parking and reducing staff numbers would be unpopular. The councillor's assessment comes five months after a review of the authority found "extremely limited" progress in dealing with its financial challenges.

An essential ingredient in economic policymaking, from interest rates to government spending, is reliable data. But government officials, economists and other number crunchers in Britain are expressing deepening concern over a long-running issue with a data set used to understand a crucial area: the country’s jobs market, the New York Times reported.

Investors gave a lukewarm response to Thames Water’s equity raise, with several potential bidders ruling themselves out of the process, and the viability of one offer in doubt, Bloomberg News reported. CK Infrastructure Holdings — one of the firms tipped to invest — decided against placing a preliminary bid, according to people familiar with the matter. Thames set a deadline of Thursday for indicative bids. Carlyle Group Inc.

Mastercard has reached an agreement in principle to settle a collective London lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers over card fees, it said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The global payments processor was facing a lawsuit brought by consumer champion Walter Merricks on behalf of approximately 46 million adults in the United Kingdom. The case became the first mass consumer action to be approved in the UK in 2021 after a nearly five-year journey from the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to the UK Supreme Court and back.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc is selling a significant risk transfer linked to around £1 billion ($1.3 billion) of UK mortgages, which have been subject to modifications such as term extensions, Bloomberg News reported. Lloyds is seeking credit protection on a portfolio of home loans, which are mostly performing but are subject to high regulatory capital charges because they were previously delinquent. The transaction, which may be priced in coming days, also includes a portion of mortgages currently in arrears. Terms of the transaction, including size, are subject to discussion with investors.

A seaside attraction which owes £51 million to a council that helped set it up faces “real risk of closure” as it files for insolvency, the Irish News reported. Bosses of Brighton seafront’s observation tower, Brighton i360, have announced the notification of administrators, blaming escalating costs, bad summer weather and the cost-of-living crisis as the reasons behind the decision. But Brighton and Hove City Council chiefs have said the “extremely disappointing” move will hit the council’s budget after it loaned millions to the project in 2014 and remains the biggest creditor.