It was meant to be a commemorative coin, a reminder in your pocket that the UK had left the EU on October 31. But with the departure set to be delayed once again next week, millions of 50p “Brexit coins” are just one government initiative having to be hastily reconsidered, the Financial Times reported. With scant acknowledgment this week, Boris Johnson broke a commitment to his party and country of quitting the bloc on October 31 “come what may, do or die”.
Royal Bank of Scotland slumped to a loss in the third quarter after a poor performance from its investment bank compounded a £900m hit from the payment protection insurance scandal, the Financial Times reported. NatWest Markets, the once high-flying investment bank that has been drastically scaled back since the financial crisis, recorded an operating loss of £193m in the quarter after its rates trading business was bruised by a historic rally in government debt.
FundingSecure, which offered loans against classic cars and Picasso paintings, has become the second British peer-to-peer lender to collapse in six months, the Financial Times reported. The decision to call in administrators at CG Recovery on Wednesday following rising defaults and legal issues leaves about 3,500 investors exposed to potential losses if the debts cannot be recovered. CG said FundingSecure’s outstanding loan book was worth about £80m and that it was too early to predict how much money they would be able to return to creditors and investors.
KPMG has been paid about £2.3m for its work on winding down Patisserie Valerie, despite being replaced as administrator to the failed bakery chain due to a conflict of interest, the Financial Times reported. The Big Four accounting firm, whose insolvency partners earned £875 an hour for the work according to its latest disclosure to creditors, will cease to be administrator as it cannot pursue legal claims against Patisserie Valerie’s auditor, which is expected to be the next stage in attempting to recoup money for creditors.
Exclusive talks between the U.K.’s Insolvency Service and Turkey’s Ataer Holdings about a sale for British Steel have ended without a deal, Bloomberg News reported. The official receiver for the company, who is managing the sale, will hold discussions with other parties and the potential buyers are expected to visit British Steel sites in the coming days, the insolvency service said on Wednesday. Talks with Ataer, which co-owns steelmakers in Turkey, are continuing as well.
A Turkish group’s acquisition of British Steel depends on lowering the cost of contracts the U.K.’s No. 2 steelmaker holds with its suppliers, according to a person familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. Oyak Group, which manages military pensions, entered exclusive talks in August to buy British Steel, the first step in a rescue that could save about 5,000 jobs in the U.K.’s manufacturing heartland.
UK-based jeweler Links of London’s fall into administration has led to loss of 38 jobs at its head office in London, administrator Deloitte said on Friday, adding that there have been no job losses in any stores, Reuters reported. The luxury jewelry retailer, owned by Greek Folli Follie, has around 28 standalone stores across the UK and Ireland along with seven kiosks and employed 350 people when it appointed administrators earlier this month.
Sterling and European markets are likely to succumb to another wave of volatility this week as the odds of a no-deal Brexit have tightened after UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s bid to pass his European Union withdrawal agreement in parliament on Saturday was scuppered, according to traders and analysts, The Irish Times reported. “Markets are likely to remain nervous over the next few days,” said Ronan Dunphy, an economist with Investec Ireland, even though he still sees the prospect of the UK crashing out of the EU at the end of October as “remote”.
U.K. retail sales held up better than expected in September in the face of the intensifying Brexit crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The quantity of goods sold rose 0.2% from August when auto fuel is excluded, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. Sales including fuel were unchanged. Both measures were forecast to decline for a second month. A buoyant labor market has supported consumer spending through the turmoil since the 2016 referendum. While heightened uncertainty ahead of the Oct.
Liquidator Grant Thornton is seeking litigation funding to step up its hunt for 500 million pounds ($632.30 million) invested in UK company Euro Forex, which Chinese police have said was a pyramid scheme, Reuters reported. Reuters reported in 2016 how Euro Forex, or EuroFX, allegedly scammed thousands of investors in China and other countries. EuroFX had a British CEO and headquarters and has since been wound up. A pyramid scheme does not make real investments, but instead uses cash from new investors to pay older ones.