Investors in a Schroders Plc real estate fund that owns some of London’s priciest offices are seeking to withdraw almost one-fifth of the 836 million pounds ($1.09 billion) pool as Brexit-related worries have mounted, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some 150 million pounds in redemption requests at the West End of London Property Unit Trust have prompted restructuring talks that could result in a sale of the fund or a change of manager, among other options, said the people, asking not to be identified as the negotiations are private, Bloomberg News reported.

Brexit uncertainty contributed to a sharp slowdown in Britain’s dominant services sector in October, according to a survey of executives. The IHS Markit services purchasing managers’ index revealed the slowest pace of growth since the snowstorms at the start of the year, the Financial Times reported. The headline reading fell to 52.2 in October, down from 53.9 in September and far below City economists’ expectations of 53.8. Monday’s survey is the most important economic data yet published to suggest that fraught Brexit negotiations are harming Britain’s real economy.

Crawshaw Group plc said two Ernst & Young LLP executive were appointed as joint administrators, after the UK meat retailer said last week it did not have sufficient cash to restructure, Reuters reported. The company joins a growing list of British retailers that have been forced to seek protection from creditors after being hit hard by competition from online shopping platforms and a rise in costs from the pound’s Brexit-induced weakness.

An “unprecedented” number of price rises from energy suppliers this year has caused UK household energy debt to surge by 24 per cent over the past year, research has found. At this time of year, most households have usually built up credit with their energy supplier, the Financial Times reported. Yet, despite the summer heatwave and warmer than usual autumn temperatures, price increases mean 3m households owe a total of £400m to their energy supplier, according to research by uSwitch, the energy switching service.

The EU is a bully. The EU is inflexible and unjust. Our proud nation must no longer submit to the diktats of Brussels and its accomplices. These complaints of Brexiters in the UK resemble the indignation of some Greeks about their nation’s treatment during the eurozone’s sovereign debt and financial sector crises, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. The British government and people, still unable to settle on a definition of Brexit, can learn from Greece’s long, painful struggle. Some lessons offer grounds for hope.

Crawshaw Group Plc became the latest British retailer to be hit by tough trading conditions, as it announced plans on Wednesday to appoint administrators to seek buyers after failed discussions with investors to raise capital, Reuters reported. The Rotherham-based butcher, which said that it does not have sufficient cash to restructure, has requested its trading on LSE’s junior market to be suspended. Crawshaw shares have lost 82.2 percent in value so far this year. Administrators are a form of creditor protection in the United Kingdom.

Sports Direct International Plc, the sportswear group controlled by billionaire Mike Ashley, said on Wednesday it had paid 8 million pounds ($10.2 million) to buy Evans Cycles after it fell into administration, Reuters reported. Sports Direct, which plans to keep half of Evans’ 62 stores open, also said about 2 million pounds of the acquisition price was used to fund Evans Cycles’ October payroll. The company has added to an already lengthy list of British investments by buying Evans Cycles on Tuesday.

The number of companies in England and Wales falling into financial distress is rising at the fastest pace since 2009, according to data on Tuesday that suggests the trouble suffered by big firms is indicative of a wider, deep-seated trend, Reuters reported. Department store House of Fraser, fast food chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen and home improvements retailer Homebase are among well-known British businesses to seek creditor protection in recent months.

Two former executives of collapsed oil company Afren were sentenced to up to six years in prison on Monday after they were convicted of fraud and money laundering over a $300 million business deal, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said, Reuters reported. Former Afren Chief Executive Osman Shahenshah and former Chief Operating Officer Shahid Ullah laundered more than $45 million, some of which was used to buy luxury properties in Mustique and the British Virgin Islands, the SFO said. "The significant sentences reflect the seriousness of this fraud.

ScS Group said on Thursday it would stop selling its sofas and carpets at House of Fraser stores from January, saying the partnership had ceased to be beneficial since billionaire Mike Ashley bought the collapsed department store group, Reuters reported. Sports Direct, the British sportswear retailer controlled by Ashley, snapped up House of Fraser and its 58 stores from administrators for 90 million pounds ($116 million) in August.