Concerns over PPI, which was supposed to protect customers if they fell ill or lost their jobs, first surfaced more than two decades ago. But the unprecedented scale of what has become by far the UK’s biggest mis-selling scandal has not lost its power to shock, The Irish Times reported. A flood of last-minute claims was widely expected before an August 29th deadline, but the scale of the rush has been little short of astonishing.

Billionaire Mike Ashley failed to appoint an auditor in time for Sports Direct’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, throwing the UK retailer deeper into chaos, The Irish Times reported. Sports Direct has been racing to find a replacement for Grant Thornton, which quit as auditor last month following the company’s delayed posting of annual results because of a last-minute €674 million tax bill. The big four auditing firms have turned down the role, citing conflicts of interest.

Grocery retailer Iceland again boosted sales across its estate in the Republic, but profit slipped further into the red as costs spiked almost 62 per cent, The Irish Times reported. The UK frozen foods retailer posted a rise in sales of 17 per cent to €57.7 million as it continued to expand its store network here in the year to March 29th, 2019. Iceland now has 26 outlets spread across the country in locations such as Donegal, Cork, Dublin and Galway.

Holders of credit insurance on Thomas Cook Group Plc are drawing up plans to potentially block the U.K. travel agent’s $1.1 billion rescue in order to ensure they get a payout, Bloomberg News reported. The group of hedge funds, including Sona Asset Management and XAIA Investment GmbH, may vote against a bailout led by Fosun Tourism Group at a creditor meeting on Sept. 18 if they don’t secure their payment before then, according to people familiar with the plan. Fosun’s rescue includes a debt-for-equity swap that could prevent compensation on their default insurance.

The number of UK companies including warnings over Brexit in their annual reports has more than doubled in the past six months as the threat of a no-deal exit from the EU has increased, according to filings from medium and large businesses to Companies House, the Financial Times reported. Companies operating in the manufacturing and retail sectors have mentioned Brexit the most, highlighting the impact that potential tariffs and border delays could have on businesses that rely on “just in time” delivery of supplies.

Shares in Britain’s Intu Properties surged as much as 22% on Monday on speculation a private equity group could buy out the shopping centre operator, which has been hit by high-profile retail failures and a hefty debt burden, Reuters reported. The Sunday Times reported that private equity firm Orion Capital Managers, founded by Aref Lahham, is in the early stages of finding partners for a buyout of Intu, which owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

A run of three profit warnings is frequently followed by boardroom firings and the arrival of administrators at U.K. firms, according to a 20-year study by EY, Bloomberg News reported. Within a year of issuing three or more profit warnings, 18% of U.K. companies will face a restructuring event such as insolvency proceedings, EY said. It also found that by the morning of a third warning, a quarter of chief executive officers have left the firm.

The parent company of Philip Green’s Arcadia fashion empire has reported a full-year loss of £170m and cautioned that a restructuring that took place this summer has not guaranteed its survival, the Financial Times reported. Taveta Investments, which is the main investment vehicle of the Green family and is controlled by Sir Philip’s wife, Tina, said in accounts filed with Companies House that increased competition and challenging conditions “have had a significant impact on performance” at its brands, which include Wallis, Topshop and Burton.

Eversmart Energy has ceased trading, British energy market regulator Ofgem said on Friday, Reuters reported. The company has around 29,000 domestic customers and a very small number of business customers. The company confirmed it was ceasing trade on its website but did not give a reason. Ofgem said it will choose a new supplier to take on all of Eversmart Energy’s customers. This supplier will contact customers shortly after being appointed.

There is no predicting where the UK is headed: an election, a no-deal Brexit, a second referendum, all of the above? But we can say something about the state in which the UK economy finds itself on the cusp of whatever it is that it is facing, the Financial Times reported. That state is evidently not good. Since the Brexit referendum, UK growth has been lagging behind that of the G7 as a whole, after leading it for the preceding four years. The past quarter put the UK at the very bottom of the G7 growth table, with a contraction of 0.2 (an annualised rate of nearly 1 per cent).