A record number of distressed debt funds are seeking to raise fresh capital as the coronavirus pandemic sparks dislocation in the credit markets, Bloomberg News reported. Seventy funds that focus on troubled companies are looking to bring in a combined $72 billion of capital amid a possible prolonged downturn, according to London-based research firm Preqin. That’s more than double the capital targeted by distressed debt funds during 2019, and is higher than any point since 2016. Private credit firms have been building up distressed debt funds for years in preparation for a downturn.

The Bank of England is widely expected to boost its support for the U.K. economy again on Thursday amid signs that recovering from the pandemic-induced recession will be harder than hoped, Bloomberg News reported. Economists predict the central bank will expand its bond-buying program by 100 billion pounds ($125 billion), taking it to 745 billion pounds, and investors are watching keenly for any hint of radical policies such as negative interest rates and yield curve control. The decision will be announced at noon in London.

The level of protection on employee pension benefits in the event of company insolvency would be reduced under the current draft of the U.K. Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association warned Monday, Pensions and Investments reported.

Travelex has pulled the sale of its business after its banks and bondholders rejected offers from a shortlist of potential buyers, leaving the currency exchange heading for a debt-for-equity restructuring as it scrambles to secure its future, the Financial Times reported. In a statement to investors on Monday, Travelex said that it had received a number of non-binding offers but these “were unacceptable” to lenders that provided its revolving credit facility and bondholders.

The UK economy has shrunk by a quarter as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with output falling at the fastest monthly rate on record in April following a steep decline in March, the Financial Times reported. Output in the UK plunged 20.4 per cent in April, compared with the previous month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. This is by far the largest contraction since monthly records began in 1997 and follows a 5.8 per cent contraction in March, the previous record fall. By the end of April the economy was about 25 per cent smaller than in February.

The UK pensions industry has warned that emergency measures aimed at helping struggling businesses during the coronavirus pandemic could leave millions of pensioners worse off, the Financial Times reported. In recent weeks the Pensions Regulator, the Pension Protection Fund and trade bodies representing retirement schemes have raised concerns with the government that the Corporate and Governance Insolvency Bill could have serious unintended consequences for retirement plans and their members.

Babcock International is deferring its dividend amid uncertainty over the impact of Covid-19 on its defence business, and after a £503m exceptional charge pushed it into a headline pre-tax loss last year, the Financial Times reported. Archie Bethel, the outgoing chief executive of the UK defence contractor, warned the group would this year miss profit margin targets set last June, as it wrestled with the consequences of the virus on productivity. In particular, business with a short-term cycle — roughly 20 per cent of revenues — would be hit this year by a drop in demand.

Centrica is to cut a further 5,000 jobs as the lossmaking energy supplier accelerates cost cuts after the coronavirus crisis added to several difficult years marred by mass redundancies, profit warnings and dividend cuts, the Financial Times reported. Half of the job cuts announced on Thursday will come from leadership, management and corporate roles as Chris O’Shea, who took over from Iain Conn as chief executive in March, seeks to simplify the energy group behind the British Gas brand. The latest redundancies add to 12,500 jobs slashed since 2015 in an effort to save £2bn by 2022.

British fashion retailer Quiz said on Wednesday it would place its stores unit into administration and then buy the business back so it can try to renegotiate better rental terms, Reuters reported. Bricks and mortar retail in the United Kingdom was facing a major structural challenge prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic with the economics of operating stores on traditional leases proving increasingly difficult.

Casual dining company The Restaurant Group is to shut 125 of its underperforming restaurants in a significant cut to the size of its estate, the Financial Times reported. The closure will largely impact its Frankie & Benny’s chain, and comes as the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns in the UK have deepened the crisis in the mid-market restaurant sector, forcing companies to reduce their cost base and downsize operations.