The outsiders that Michael Hintze brought in to his secretive hedge fund firm didn’t last long. Nor did their growth plans. The billionaire’s firm, known as CQS, a bastion of money-making whose flagship fund has returned more than three times the average of hedge fund peers since it opened in 2005, is now headed in reverse. The Hintze-managed fund plunged as much as 45% in March and April -- its worst-ever loss -- missing the rebound that followed the initial shock from the coronavirus pandemic even as peers recovered to post gains in April.

The threat of a no-deal Brexit is back -- and with it the risk that the U.K. economy’s shaky recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be hobbled, Bloomberg News reported. As British and European Union negotiators head into the last round of talks scheduled before a key summit this month, chances are growing that the U.K. will end the post-Brexit transition period on Dec. 31 without a free trade agreement in place -- spelling turmoil for businesses. Instead of postponing its final parting with the bloc because of the coronavirus, the U.K. government has so far ruled out any delay.

The deal sees a team of five fee insolvency practitioners transfer Grant Thornton to Begbies Traynor, a UK consulting group dedicated to restructuring and turnaround services, Consultancy.uk reported. The quintet are taking along around 500 Scottish insolvency cases to their new employer, and an fee income to the tune of £600,000 per annum.

One of the UK’s biggest investors in smaller companies is planning a £15bn fund to help bail out thousands of businesses that will struggle to repay state-guaranteed coronavirus loans, the Financial TImes reported. Stephen Welton, chief executive of Business Growth Fund, which is backed by the big UK banks, said he was talking to investors, the government and his shareholders about proposals for the public-private fund.

Boris Johnson plans to re-set his government’s agenda with a major speech and a financial statement to prepare the U.K. for the new reality after the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Amid forecasts of the worst recession in 300 years, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is drawing up options to bolster the economy after the government withdraws its vast package of financial support in the months ahead, according to people familiar with the matter.

UK banks are warning that up to half of the £18.5bn of “bounce back” coronavirus loans are unlikely to be repaid and are lobbying the chancellor to prepare for the collapse of hundreds of thousands of small businesses, the Financial Times reported. Three senior bankers estimated between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of the 608,000 borrowers who have accessed the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, or BBLS, could eventually default on the debt as the prospect of a quick economic recovery fades.

PizzaExpress is planning to launch a pasta brand to bring in extra revenue amid negotiations over its large debt pile and the possible closure of some of its restaurants, the Financial Times reported. The chain’s owners, Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital, are considering options for its future, including a “company voluntary arrangement”, an administration process that would allow the business to reduce its costs by closing some of its 627 restaurants.

A new insolvency law fast tracked by the UK government as a response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses has prompted confusion and disappointment among restructuring advisers, Reuters reported. The main gripe among advisers centres around the new rules governing declaring a debt moratorium - essentially a repayment holiday - which they say are unworkable for larger companies holding more complex debt structures that include high-yield bonds and bank debt. “The moratorium is an opportunity missed.

EasyJet will not fly to Italy if Rome prolongs social distancing rules on planes beyond June 15, the budget airline’s chief executive said in a newspaper interview, Reuters reported. “It would be impossible for companies to operate with only a third of the seats sold,” Lundgren was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera on Thursday.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has warned it is facing insolvency due to the coronavirus pandemic, Edinburgh Live reported. The stark warning was made by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, which organises the August event and has so far made four staff members redundant, with 70% furloughed and all workers having their pay cut by a fifth. In a submission to Westminster's Culture, Media and Sport committee, the charity, which effectively facilitates the open-access festival, says it faces a shortfall of £1.5 million.