A council has defended its financial management after a report warned it is ‘bordering on insolvency’. The recent internal audit found Thetford Town Council has ‘excessively low balances’ and urged it to reassess its investments, the Suffolk News reported. The council has been criticised for several months over the handling of its finances after it voted to declare a ‘climate emergency’ and commit £30,000 of its funds to combat the issue. However, councillors have dismissed the warnings of the auditor as ‘isolated items’ and maintain the authority is ‘well run’.

U.K. borrowing costs have surged and the pound has plunged amid speculation over the Chancellor’s future, The Telegraph reported. UK gilt yields rocketed higher on bond markets as Sir Keir Starmer initially failed to repeat a guarantee that Rachel Reeves would remain in her role for the whole of Labour’s first term in power. The yield on 10-year gilts – the return the Government promises to buyers of its debt – shot up by as much as 18 basis points, rising above 4.6pc after Ms Reeves was seen crying in the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Spanish Banco Santander S.A., the biggest lender in continental Europe by market capitalisation, is buying Scotland-based commercial bank TSB for £2.65 billion (€3.08bn). This is a major step to bolster the Spanish lender’s future in the UK, as it has been struggling to keep its UK arm afloat, EuroNews reported. The acquisition of TSB Bank means 5 million customers will be transferred to Santander, who will keep a total of £35bn (€40.1bn) in their deposits.

Shares of Argo Blockchain plunged more than 60% on Monday after the Bitcoin mining company unveiled a court-supervised restructuring plan in a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy, TheMinerMag.com reported. The London- and Nasdaq-listed miner said it has entered into an agreement with Growler Mining and will seek approval from a U.K. court to implement the proposed plan. If approved, the deal would eliminate existing shareholders and transfer majority ownership to Growler Mining, a mining firm based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Britain's Lindsey oil refinery has begun insolvency proceedings, putting hundreds of jobs at risk and potentially increasing the country's reliance on fuel imports just weeks after its Grangemouth refinery stopped processing oil, Reuters reported. Lindsey is one of six remaining oil refineries in Britain, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and employs around 420 people, according to FTI, the refinery's special manager through the insolvency process.

Autonomous driving software company LeddarTech has filed for bankruptcy under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) days after announcing its plans to wind down operations on June 16, Betakit.com reported. The filing from the Québec City-based company details $145.9 million in debts. Secured (collateral-backed) debts represent $138.9 million of the figure and include $$53.2 million owed to the provincial government’s Investissement Québec (IQ) and a total of $40.3 million to investor and credit provider Desjardins.

The future of an inland surfing lake in the U.K. remains uncertain as the facility is sold amid a row over finances, BBC.com reported. The Wave, on the outskirts of Bristol, shut suddenly on Thursday and cancelled bookings after being placed into technical insolvency. CEO Hazel Geary announced on Friday evening the site, under the entity Surf Bristol Limited, had been sold to a company called Sea Level Wave Company Ltd. Julian Topham, who founded and runs Boardmasters surf festival and Vision Nine, has been asked to step into the role of interim CEO during the "transition period".

Staffordshire, U.K.-based hire and fleet management firm Prohire has taken initial steps to appoint an administrator, Motor Transport reported. The company filed an application in court this week notifying its intention to appoint insolvency experts. The application was lodged on 25 June. The last available set of accounts for the business showed that turnover had increased by £8.5m in the year ending 31 March 2024 to £52.9m. It attributed this mainly to annualisation of prior year and current year contract hire new business secured.