The Insolvency Practitioners Association has announced it will investigate the company voluntary arrangement organised to cut the debts of Bury, who were expelled by the English Football League on Tuesday, The Guardian reported. The IPA said its decision to “consider the operation of the CVA”, followed concerns expressed in the Guardian by the Bury North MP, James Frith, and the Football Supporters’ Association. Frith has said he assumes it will also be “standard practice” that the Insolvency Service, a government agency, will investigate.

Economic sentiment in the UK dropped to its lowest level in seven years in August on the back of weak services and a slump in confidence in the retail sector, the Financial Times reported. Monthly figures from the European Commission showed that while the eurozone had arrested the decline in its economic sentiment, it continued to fall fast in the UK. The figures highlight the fragility of the UK economy as the Brexit deadline approaches, and were particularly weak among retailers, who recorded the lowest level of confidence for just over a decade.

Specialist lender Amigo has warned it will change its business model to head off a regulatory crackdown, sending its shares plunging more than 50 per cent on Thursday, the Financial Times reported. The UK company, which lends to people with poor credit ratings as long as they have someone to step in should they fail to repay, has drawn the scrutiny of the Financial Conduct Authority over concerns that its customers risk becoming trapped as repeat borrowers on interest rates of close to 50 per cent.

A combination of business taxes and higher staff costs hit first-half profits at PizzaExpress, prompting the UK chain to scale back its expansion plans, the Financial Times reported. The group, which helped pioneer casual dining in the UK, pinned the blame on “industry-wide cost pressures” as it reported that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell almost 8 per cent to £32.4m in the six months to the end of June.

British banks need “a generation” to fix the cultural issues that led to the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal, according to the UK’s most senior retail banking regulator, as he warned that bad behaviour could return during the next economic downturn, the Financial Times reported. Jonathan Davidson, director of supervision for retail and authorisations at the Financial Conduct Authority, said lenders had made genuine efforts to reform since they were forced to set up a PPI compensation schemes in 2011.

Zambia should show that it is taking measures to fight corruption to unlock donor aid and investments that have been withheld due to graft concerns, the British High Commissioner to the country said on Tuesday, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Britain, Finland, Ireland and Sweden withheld nearly $34 million in aid to Zambia's social welfare and education sectors in September last year because of concern over financial mismanagement.

Creditors of Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Marine Services (GMS) are close to hiring an adviser to help them renegotiate debt terms, two sources familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported. London-listed GMS, which provides support vessels for offshore oil and gas and other energy installations, has been hurt by a downturn in the oil and gas services industry after a slump in oil prices in recent years reduced demand.

The largest shareholder in Carpetright has agreed to take on the company’s substantial debt pile and open talks over long-term funding, providing a degree of certainty to the troubled UK flooring retailer as it pushes to turn itself round, the Financial Times reported. Carpetright said on Tuesday that Meditor, a private investment vehicle controlled by former hedge fund manager Talal Shakerchi, would purchase its £40.7m revolving credit facility from its current lenders AIB and NatWest. The company was not involved in the talks between Meditor and the lending banks.

A number of “non-binding” offers are on the table for Harland and Wolff which, if successful, could ensure a new future for the historic east Belfast shipyard which is in the hands of administrators, The Irish Times reported. According to Michael Jennings and Brian Murphy of BDO NI, who were appointed as joint administrators of the yard at the beginning of this month, there has been a “healthy level of interest” from potential buyers.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday ordered liquidation of debt-ridden Amtek Auto as it declined lenders' request for extension of the insolvency resolution process deadline, Business Today reported. Amtek Auto was among the first list of the 12 companies that were referred by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2017 to respective banks for the initiation of insolvency process for defaults. UK-based Liberty House was selected as the highest bidder by the committee of creditors (CoC) of Amtek Auto.