Mastercard's agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit brought on behalf of British consumers drew criticism on Wednesday, in a dispute that could deter funders from involvement in Britain's burgeoning class action sector, Reuters reported. The global payments processor in December announced an agreement to settle long-running litigation over card fees for 200 million pounds, far below the 10 billion-pound ($12.6 billion) valuation previously put on the lawsuit.
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United Kingdom
Cash-strapped Thames Water bought itself some more time to reorganize its debts after a London judge approved an emergency loan worth as much as £3 billion ($3.8 billion), Bloomberg News reported. The plan will see the money come from a number of Thames’ existing senior creditors, including investment firms Elliott Management, Silver Point and Pimco. The loan comes weeks before Thames, the UK’s largest water and sewer company, was due to run out of cash and gives some much needed breathing space for it to negotiate a major restructuring with its lenders.
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Company insolvencies have surged to a 16-year high as bosses give up ahead of Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, official figures show, The Telegraph reported. More businesses went under last month than in any January since the financial crisis. The number of corporate insolvencies jumped by 10.7pc year-on-year to hit 1,971, which means nearly 500 companies went bust every week. The monthly total was up by 6.5pc compared to December and was the highest January total since 2009, when the economy was reeling from the credit crunch.
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U.K. annual inflation in January reached its highest level since March last year, complicating the picture for the Bank of England after it said it would cut interest rates gradually amid a weak outlook for economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices were 3.0% higher in January than a year earlier, up from 2.5% in December, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.
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Construction was the worst-hit sector for insolvencies in the year to December 2024, new Insolvency Service figures show, Construction News reported. Some 4,032 building businesses become insolvent, accounting for 17 per cent of all such cases in England and Wales. The next worst-affected sectors were wholesale and retail (3,572), and accommodation and foodservice (3,464). Kelly Boorman, head of construction at accountancy firm RSM UK, said that the figures reflected the amount of debt burden and distress in the building supply chain.
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Sandwich stalwart Pret A Manger has been hit with a winding up petition by a business water supplier over unpaid debts, City AM reported. According to the High Court filing system, Pret A Manger (Europe), a subsidiary of Pret Intermediate Company, has been named in a winding up petition by Castle Water, an independent business water supplier. The case was filed by the water company’s lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard on Thursday, with the Official Receiver noted as a third party. City AM understands that this is in regard to uncontested debt.
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