British Land and Land Securities are among the landlords that have challenged New Look’s company voluntary arrangement, casting renewed doubt over the survival of the fashion chain, the Financial Times reported. The CVA, a type of insolvency process that usually results in landlords agreeing hefty rent cuts, was approved by creditors in September but the statutory challenge period ran until the middle of October. Three people with knowledge of the process said that there had been four separate challenges.

Tax experts have warned that an incoming law which moves HM Revenue & Customs higher up the list of creditors in insolvencies could further damage the economy and cause more companies to go bust, the Financial Times reported. From December 1, the UK tax authority will be ranked higher in the pecking order used to decide which creditors get paid first when a company fails. The change applies to unpaid VAT, income tax, employee’s national insurance, student loan deductions and Construction Industry Scheme deductions, but not corporation tax.

The number of companies in significant financial distress has risen at the fastest rate for three years as businesses face increasing difficulties given the end of many government Covid-19 business support schemes, the Financial Times reported. More than half a million companies were in “significant distress” in the three months to September, based on data from court orders to pay off debts, according to corporate restructuring firm Begbies Traynor.

Demand for British retail and office space contracted sharply during the third quarter and the outlook for the year ahead has worsened as working and shopping patterns change during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said 78% of chartered surveyors viewed the commercial property market as being in a downturn, up a little from 76% in the second quarter.

SA’s second-largest diamond producer has noted a one-fifth increase in rough diamond prices as its three SA mines recovered from the lockdown, but it’s not enough to stave off a massively dilutive debt restructuring plan, Business Day reported. London-listed Petra Diamonds, which is engaged in a plan to address a $650m bond that falls due in 2022 and which would dilute existing shareholders to a mere 9% stake in the miner, reported a decline in production in the quarter to end-September, the first of its financial year. Consolidated debt was $688m at the end of September.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill has been given more time to find buyers or new investors for its struggling businesses as an alternative to putting them into administration, the Financial Times reported. The group, controlled by Switzerland-based tycoon Philip Day, had already filed a notice of intent to appoint FRP as administrators, giving it protection from any legal action by its creditors. The notice was extended for two weeks on Friday.

The UK economic recovery lost steam in October as tighter Covid-19 restrictions limited activity more than expected in both the manufacturing and services sectors, prompting further job cuts and fuelling fears of a renewed economic downturn, the Financial Times reported. The IHS Markit flash, or interim, purchasing managers’ index for services fell to 52.3 in October, down from 56.1 in the previous month and the lowest since June.

Banks have asked specialist debt collectors to help lead the recovery of tens of billions of pounds of government-backed small business loans, as they prepare for an expected wave of defaults and fraud cases, the Financial Times reported. UK Finance, the trade group, is leading discussions to create a centralised “utility” that will deal with defaults on government-backed bounce back loans.

More than £3bn might have been stolen in furlough money by criminal gangs and fraudulent employers, according to estimates used by parliament’s spending watchdog in a report into the government’s flagship jobs protection scheme, the Financial Times reported. The National Audit Office said there was evidence of “significant levels of furlough fraud” from both organised gangs “hijacking” claims and employers taking money collected on behalf of staff. More money will be lost through staff working hours that they were claiming for, the NAO added.

KPMG has put its UK restructuring practice up for sale and held talks with private equity firms ahead of a possible auction before the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported. A cash injection would help the Big Four firm, with its finances having suffered during the pandemic. KPMG also faces a potentially large fine over its audit work for Carillion, the collapsed outsourcing group, as well as a £250m negligence lawsuit brought by the company’s administrators.