British Steel has asked the government for tens of millions of pounds in emergency funding as the UK’s second-largest steel producer battles to avoid a collapse that would lead to thousands of job losses, the Financial Times reported. The company blamed uncertainty caused by Brexit as it confirmed it was in talks with ministers about “a package of additional support”, which one person briefed on the discussions said was for £70m-£80m.

The High Court of England and Wales has recognized Singapore’s new moratorium law for companies unable to pay their creditors, Vantage Asia reported. The ruling is positive for debt workouts across different jurisdictions and a boost to the city-state’s ambition to become Asia’s debt restructuring hub.

Creditors of Debenhams, the UK department store group that went into a “pre-pack” administration last month, have approved proposals that will allow the group to close 22 stores and reduce rents on more than 100 more, the Financial Times reported. At a meeting held in central London, votes on the two company voluntary arrangements were passed by 95 per cent and 97 per cent majorities. The CVAs are the final part of a refinancing process that has seen the group’s equity wiped out and its creditors swap £100m of debt for new equity.

Metro Bank has drawn up plans to sell more than £1 billion (€1.15 billion) worth of loans at the centre of a misreporting scandal that caused its share price to plunge and forced it into a rights issue, The Irish Times reported. The move would be a significant reversal of strategy for the former darling of Britain’s challenger banks, which won admiration from investors for its rapid growth but changed its approach after the discovery of an embarrassing accounting error.

Thomas Cook’s bonds suffered heavy losses while the cost to insure against a potential default leapt higher on Thursday, amid mounting concern over the travel company’s ability to service its debt, the Financial Times reported. Investor angst deepened after at least one of the travel group’s lenders sold a loan it made to the company at a highly-distressed price. A revolving credit line was sold this week at around 59 pence on the pound, according to debt investors.

Philip Green’s Arcadia Group is offering to pay for an adviser to its landlords as the retailer battles for their backing on its plan to avoid collapse through a complex restructuring of its store estate, the Financial Times reported. The fashion company, which owns chains from Topshop and Topman to Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, wants to cut its sprawling store portfolio and pay lower rents. It is proposing to fund investment bank PJT Partners to negotiate on behalf of the property owners, said three people briefed on the talks.

UK manufacturing growth slowed in April as companies eased their stockpiling following the delay of Brexit and new export orders declined, according to a survey of executives, the Financial Times reported. The IHS Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 53.1 in April, from 55.1 in the previous month, in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters. The survey covers last month, when the UK’s exit from the EU was delayed to the end of October after MPs repeatedly voted down Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the EU.

Some of Metro Bank’s largest customers left the bank after the discovery of a historic accounting error in the first quarter, damaging growth at the under-fire British lender, the Financial Times reported. Chief executive Craig Donaldson said “adverse sentiment” had led to the departure of a “small number of large commercial and partnership customers”, contributing to a 4 per cent quarter-on-quarter reduction in deposits. Metro Bank in January revealed that it had miscategorised a large number of commercial loans, meaning it did not have as much capital against them as it should.

Philip Green is racing to secure the future of his retail group Arcadia, promising to invest £100m in the company as it seeks creditor support for what promises to be one of the most complex restructurings on the UK high street, the Financial Times reported. The owner of chains including Topshop and Dorothy Perkins is locked in tense negotiations with landlords and the pensions regulator over plans to cut rents and close a swath of stores in the face of sinking sales in its UK shops and persistent discounting by high-street rivals.

Debenhams is demanding reductions in business rates alongside cuts to rents as part of its attempt to reduce its store occupancy costs, according to documents seen by the Financial Times. Last week, the struggling department store group confirmed it would launch a company voluntary arrangement — a type of insolvency proceeding — to restructure its expensive and inflexible leases, the Financial Times reported. That followed a financial restructuring through which the group’s creditors took control of its business and assets.