Thousands of people who seek debt advice are potentially ending up even worse off because of the aggressive marketing of repayment plans that they are later unable to afford, the Financial Times reported. Statistics published on Thursday by the UK’s Insolvency Service showed the number of people entering Individual Voluntary Arrangements, which allow people to pay off part of their debts on a schedule agreed with their creditors, rose to a new high of 78,000 in 2019, up almost 10 per cent from 2018.

British car production fell to its lowest level in almost a decade last year as warnings intensified that the UK needed to “re-establish” its reputation as a place to invest, the Financial Times reported. Output fell 14 per cent to 1.3m, the worst since 2010, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on Thursday. The decline of diesel, falling sales to China, and production shutdowns in anticipation of Brexit all hit output, pushing exports down by 14.7 per cent and production for the home market down by 12.3 per cent.

When John Zhao sealed the £900m takeover of the UK’s PizzaExpress in 2014 he burnished his reputation as a pioneer in China’s private equity industry, the Financial Times reported. Two years later Hony Capital, his buyout firm, ploughed money into WeWork as the New York shared-office provider set its sights on an aggressive expansion in China. Both deals shared a simple premise: take well-known western brands to China and they will flourish.

Turkish conglomerate Cengiz Holding is prepared to bid for British Steel if the planned sale of the UK company to Jingye collapses, adding to pressure on the Chinese group to finalise the deal in coming weeks, the Financial Times reported. “We are watching developments closely and are ready to make a bid for the whole of British Steel,” said Omer Mafa, chief executive of Cengiz, in a statement on Sunday.

Almost half a million businesses in the UK are in significant financial distress, the highest number on record, according to Begbies Traynor, the insolvency firm, the Financial Times reported. Data from the restructuring specialist found that businesses outside London in particular had shown signs of financial difficulties, raising additional questions for Boris Johnson’s government as it talks about ‘levelling up’ growth in the regions.

The Chinese group buying British Steel has reached an agreement with trade unions over its rescue of the failed manufacturer, as it races to wrap up a takeover by the end of next month, the Financial Times reported. Executives from Jingye and union officials have reached an understanding for the basis of new employment contracts and other aspects of a turnround plan, three people with knowledge of the discussions said.

A judge in London has ordered the former owners of Russia’s Trust Bank and their wives to pay the country’s central bank $900m to compensate for their role in an offshore scheme that led to its collapse, the Financial Times reported. Mr Justice Bryan, a judge in the English High Court, ruled on Thursday that Ilya Yurov, Sergei Belyaev, and Nikolai Fetisov had conspired to “evade banking standards” to falsify Trust’s accounts and use the bank’s 1.5m retail deposit base to help fund companies where they were the ultimate beneficiaries.

Struggling British regional airline Flybe is in talks with the government about a loan on commercial terms which would not represent a state bailout, the BBC reported on Friday, Reuters reported. British Airways and Ryanair have opposed government-backed support for Flybe, saying it prevents a level playing field and breaches state aid rules, although the details of the plan have not been made public. The government has said that its support for Flybe, which provides links between many regional UK and European airports, does not breach EU rules on state aid.

British department store retailer Beales has collapsed into administration, a form of creditor protection, putting 1,052 jobs at risk, administrator KPMG said on Monday, Reuters reported. The 139-year old retailer operates 23 department stores in market towns across Britain, selling furniture, fashion, toys and cosmetics.

Recruiter Hays has warned it expects profits to slip in the first half of this year, as economic uncertainty across several key markets disrupts its business, the Financial Times reported. Hays highlighted strikes in France, the slowdown in the German economy, political uncertainty in the UK and the still-raging Australian bushfires as factors behind a “marked” slowdown in fee growth in December, in a trading update on Thursday. Together, these countries account for 45 per cent of the recruiter’s fees.