UK’s Countrywide said on Wednesday a deal to sell its commercial real estate consultancy business has been delayed, sending the debt-laden company’s shares lower, Reuters reported. The sale of Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), which was agreed with Monaco-based entrepreneur John Bengt Moeller in November, would have fetched the British real estate agent 38 million pounds. Countrywide said Moeller had failed to complete the deal by a March 1 deadline, adding that it was looking at legal options to claim costs from him for the delay and for the damages caused.

Rishi Sunak balanced a warning of severe disruption to the UK economy from the spiralling coronavirus epidemic with a multibillion pound package of emergency measures aimed at keeping the UK’s 6m small and medium-sized businesses afloat, the Financial Times reported. A £1bn government-backed emergency loan scheme, reimbursement of sick pay costs, suspension of business rates for retail and leisure outlets, and a £3,000 cash grant to the smallest of businesses were among the temporary initiatives introduced by the new chancellor to address strains that companies across the coun

The move by banks to force Cineworld's top shareholder to refinance a loan without equity collateral is yet another sign of mounting stress in Europe's junk debt market as the coronavirus roils markets and businesses around the world, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story.

Even as Ashmore Group Plc’s bond funds endured blow after blow in the past year from risky bets that came undone, its stock price soared to a record -- until now. In the past three days, the London-based money manager’s shares plunged 16%, heading for the biggest slide in more than a decade, Bloomberg News reported. The tumble reflects a crash in oil prices that rattled risky assets already on edge over the spreading coronavirus. The $5.3 billion Ashmore Emerging Markets Short Duration Fund offers a study in what went wrong.

British Steel’s Chinese buyer intends to continue pursuing the company’s French arm after completing the takeover of the rest of the group and saving 3,200 jobs, the Financial Times reported. The rescue deal gives Jingye control of the manufacturer’s British and Dutch sites but not its factory in Hayange, northern France, the sale of which has been delayed by concerns from the government in Paris.

A company affiliated to Gruppo San Donato, Italy’s private healthcare group, has withdrawn from bidding for NMC Health, the Middle East-focused healthcare company, the Financial Times reported. The Italian group has been the only bidder for NMC Health after private equity group KKR ruled out its involvement last month. NMC’s shares have been suspended since the end of February, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has launched a formal investigation into its finances.

A fiery dispute between the board of Amigo Loans and its majority shareholder caused shares in the company to tumble to a record low on Thursday, as mutual recriminations threatened to derail its recently announced sale process, the Financial Times reported. James Benamor, who founded the high-cost lender in 2005, published a lengthy statement on Wednesday evening attacking regulators and accusing the rest of the Amigo board of multiple failings.

Capita’s shares collapsed on Thursday as investors became frustrated over the slow progress of the UK outsourcer’s restructuring plans, the Financial Times reported. Shares of the government contractor plunged 38 per cent to 77p after the company’s results showed the group is struggling to rebuild after a £700m rescue rights issue two years ago. The group announced a £62.6m pre-tax loss in 2019 compared with a profit of £272.6m in 2018. Net debt rose to £791m last year from £466m in 2018, more than the City had been expecting. Revenue slid to £3.6bn from £3.9bn.

British Steel’s factory in France has received four takeover offers, according to the country’s finance minister, a development that will complicate efforts by a Chinese investor to buy out the whole of the troubled company, the Financial Times reported. The bidders include industry giant ArcelorMittal, German steel producer Saarstahl and the UK-based industrial group Liberty House, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The clock is ticking for the debt-laden owner of some of Britain’s biggest malls. Intu Properties Plc has just four months to raise enough capital to fend off creditors after it was forced to cancel a planned share sale, Bloomberg News reported. Furthermore, if mall values keep falling at their current rate, the firm will quickly need to find about 300 million pounds ($385 million) to satisfy lenders. And that’s before Intu even begins addressing its more than 3 billion pounds of loans coming due over the next five years -- a debt burden about 30 times the firm’s current market value.