Bondholders in PizzaExpress are pressing the company to engage in restructuring talks as fears mount about the future of the 54-year-old business, the Financial Times reported. The pizza chain and debtholders have consulted financial advisers ahead of third-quarter results next month, which are expected to reveal poor summer trading that will add further pressure on a balance sheet laden with £1.1bn of net debt.

PizzaExpress Ltd. hired financial adviser Houlihan Lokey Inc. to prepare for debt talks with its creditors amid tough trading conditions for U.K. restaurant chains, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. Separately, a group of secured bondholders started working with Perella Weinberg Partners after appointing law firm Latham & Watkins in July, said the people, who asked not to be named because it’s private. Representatives for Houlihan Lokey, Perella Weinberg and PizzaExpress declined to comment. The U.K.

Airline bankruptcies have increased this year at the fastest ever rate, led by the collapse of India’s Jet Airways, British travel group Thomas Cook and Avianca of Brazil, according to industry data published on Friday, Reuters reported. “2019 has seen the fastest growth in airline failure in history,” said airline consulting firm IBA, which has tracked plane fleets returned to lessors or administrators by 17 carriers that have gone bust so far this year.

Creditors of Brazilian oil platforms and rigs maker Sete Brasil have approved the sale of four oil exploration rigs to British company Magni Partners, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters on Friday, Reuters reported. The rigs sold are named Urca, Frade, Arpoador and Guarapari. The four rigs have a 10-year leasing contract with Petrobras , which will pay $299,000 per day for each rig when operational, one of the sources said. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had no information regarding total value of the deal.

Thomas Cook was forced to pay fees worth tens of millions of pounds to more than 30 advisers in its dying days as it struggled to secure a rescue deal, with the vast payouts adding to an already severe cash burn at the collapsed travel group, the Financial Times reported. Dozens of City advisers — working on behalf of the company, bondholders, shareholders, industry insurance schemes such as Atol and the pension fund — were involved in talks to restructure the debt-laden business in the run-up to its demise.

Shares in Ted Baker shed more than a third of their value on Thursday, after the British fashion retailer’s second profit warning in four months on the back of what new boss Lindsay Page called the worst business conditions in decades, Reuters reported. The warning underlines the challenges facing Page, who became chief executive officer in April, after misconduct allegations against Ted Baker founder and top shareholder Ray Kelvin. The company also tapped a new finance chief last week.

The UK’s economic outlook is darkening, according to a set of surveys released this week suggesting that activity slowed sharply in September while a growing proportion of employers cut staff, the Financial Times reported. The index of service sector activity, compiled by research group IHS Markit, fell from 50.6 in August to 49.5 last month, well below analysts’ expectations. Any reading below 50 means that a majority of companies reported falls in activity.

Irish lender AIB Group Plc added its name to a growing list of borrowers shunning English law for their riskiest bank bonds in preparation for life after Brexit, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned bank used Irish law for a sale of contingent convertible bonds on Wednesday that are set to replace its existing English-law governed notes. The move reflects a wider trend among European banks. Only 14% of euro-denominated CoCo paper sold by European lenders this year is governed by English law, down from more than 40% before 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Four Seasons, Britain’s second biggest care home operator, failed to pay millions of pounds of rent this month with no warning to landlords, raising concerns over the care of thousands of elderly residents, the Financial Times reported. The non-payment comes amid a shortage of residential places and as the Conservative party conference this week discusses the crisis in elderly care. Four Seasons, which runs 320 homes housing 16,000 residents, has been fighting for survival since 2017 after its owner — Guy Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma — defaulted on an interest payment.

The U.K.’s accounting watchdog opened an investigation into Ernst & Young’s audit of Thomas Cook Group Plc’s financial statements after the 178-year-old tour operator collapsed, Bloomberg News reported. The Financial Reporting Council began the probe amid a growing political outcry over the failure last month, which cost thousands of jobs and left tourists stranded across Europe. The Big Four accounting firms have come under intense scrutiny in the U.K. following the collapse of outsourcing contractor Carillion PLC, bakery chain Patisserie Holdings Plc and other companies.