Hundreds of German companies have appealed for more direct support from Brussels and a business-friendly stance from EU lawmakers as they grapple with the effects of Brexit, the US-China trade war and a global economic slowdown, the Financial Times reported. Responding to a poll by the Stiftung Familienunternehmen, or Foundation for Family Businesses, some of the country’s most successful companies said the new European Commission must do more to boost competitiveness. They placed emphasis on simplifying taxes, reducing bureaucracy and deeper digital integration.

Creditors to troubled casual-dining group PizzaExpress Ltd., which has around $1.4 billion of debts, expect to see much of their money returned and the brand survive, according to analyst Helen Rodriguez at CreditSights in London, Bloomberg News reported. “There’s a brand and a business for PizzaExpress, it just has the wrong balance sheet and needs to reduce its debt,” she said. “If it were to restructure, someone would certainly want to start again with the business.” That will come as a relief to many in the U.K., for whom the chain is something of a national icon.

A London court order for Ukraine’s largest lender PrivatBank to repay two of its defaulted bonds in full plus interest is a boost for their holders, but looks set to add to Kiev’s complex tussle with the bank’s former owner, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, Reuters reported. The ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) was originally made in June but the exact details have only just emerged after the bonds’ trustee got approval to communicate them to investors.

Greek jewelry maker Folli Follie’s Links of London appointed Deloitte as an administrator on Wednesday, putting about 350 jobs at risk and adding to the list of high-profile retailers to run into trouble on Britain’s high street, Reuters reported. Links of London was founded in 1990, offering unisex jewelry and lifestyle accessories, with luxury products designed after London’s art, music, and film scenes at the time. Links of London said on its website it was unable to process any online sales, but directed people to its stores.

In a related story, Reuters reported that talks with potential strategic and private equity investors to rescue Thomas Cook’s German tour business going well and many investors have expressed interest in the company as a whole or in its branches, the insolvent company’s liquidator said. “The investor talks are in full swing, running well and giving hope,” Julia Kappel-Gnirs, a liquidator of Thomas Cook Germany’s Bucher Reisen and Oeger Tours units, said in a statement on Wednesday. The travel firm on Wednesday said it was cancelling all travel operations until Dec.

Hays Travel will buy all Thomas Cook's British travel agent shops, potentially saving up to 2,500 jobs, Britain's insolvency agency said on Wednesday, in a rare reprieve for high streets across the country, Business Insider reported. Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel company whose shops have been a feature of British town centers for generations, collapsed last month, and its UK business went into liquidation. Hays Travel will acquire all 555 stores and look to re-employ former employees from Thomas Cook's retail operations, Britain's Insolvency Service said in a statement.

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.