Steinhoff International Holdings NV is considering an initial public offering of Pepkor Europe, its fastest-growing unit, as the scandal-hit South African retailer seeks funds for the next phase of its recovery plan, people familiar with the matter said. The company has been discussing a listing of Pepkor Europe with potential advisers, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private, Bloomberg News reported. The business -- which owns the Pepco and Dealz chains as well as Poundland in the U.K.

Administrators for Belfast’s Harland and Wolff shipyard are expected to file for insolvency this afternoon. Accountancy firm BDO was appointed to the firm yesterday evening and is expected to file the papers at Belfast High Court, Newstalk reported. The iconic site ceased trading yesterday after its Norwegian parent company failed to find a buyer. Its 123 staff have been handed redundancy notices – however, workers are refusing to leave the site and are demanding UK Government action to save the historic business.

Sports Direct has won the bidding war for Jack Wills, adding yet another brand to Mike Ashley’s high street empire, The Irish Times reported. Advisers at KPMG said Jack Wills had been put into administration on Monday and was immediately sold to Sports Direct in a process known as a pre-pack administration. The retailer has a small number of stores in the Republic, including on Grafton Street, at the Dundrum Town Centre and at Kildare Village.

Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic, was put into administration on Monday after its bankrupt Norwegian owner failed to find a buyer and calls for its nationalization were rebuffed, Reuters reported. The shipyard, whose towering yellow cranes dominate the Northern Irish city’s skyline, has been occupied by workers fearful for their jobs since last week. They said on Monday they would block administrators from entering the site. “BDO have been appointed as administrators and the company will file for insolvency tomorrow,” a Harland and Wolff spokesman said.

Almost one in six English businesses has been summoned to appear before magistrates for non-payment of business rates in the past year, prompting fresh concerns about the controversial levy, the Financial Times reported. According to business rates consultancy Altus, local authority replies to freedom of information requests suggest that 171,018 summons were issued in the year to March 31, equivalent to just under 10 per cent of all business premises in England.

Malvern Group has appointed KPMG as an administrator for its travel businesses, including Super Break and LateRooms, a day after shutting them down as one of its main shareholders defaulted on debt repayments, the audit firm said on Friday, Reuters reported. Malvern Group is partly owned by Indian tour operator Cox & Kings Ltd, which is under severe financial stress and has defaulted on debt repayments. Malvern Group’s website said forthcoming bookings had been cancelled, while customers currently on tours may be asked to pay again by the hotels.

Olaide Olasupo received an unexpected email on Monday evening. He was not to go to his classes at GSM London the following morning because the college would be going into administration, the Financial Times reported. The business student had one project left to submit before completing his degree programme when the news came that GSM London, one of England’s largest privately owned higher education providers, would cease teaching. Now he is searching for another institution that will recognise his coursework and allow him to complete his studies. “This was four years of my life.

Company insolvencies hit a five-year high in the second quarter of this year, according to the Insolvency Service of England and Wales, CRN reported. Underlying corporate insolvencies totalled 4,321 for the three-month period ending in June, which represented a 2.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase and an 11.9 per cent jump on the same period last year. This is the highest underlying level of insolvencies in any quarter since Q1 2014, the authority said.

Can the company behind Aston Martin avoid tapping its shareholders? Yes, if everything goes to plan. The snag is that Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc is proving increasingly accident prone, a Bloomberg View reported. Shares in the sports car maker fell as much as 22% on Wednesday. That’s all too familiar. The stock dropped 26% and 18% on consecutive days last week. The group is suffering from weak orders in Europe even as sales rise in the U.S. and Asia. A partner has defaulted on an intellectual property deal, costing 19 million pounds ($23.1 million).

Businesses that fail to adapt to climate change will go bust, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday, but others will be able to profit handsomely from funding green investment, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. "Companies that don't adapt - including companies in the financial system - will go bankrupt without question. (But) there will be great fortunes made along this path aligned with what society wants," Carney told Channel 4 News.