Thousands of customers of two failed pension providers can now claim for losses after the Financial Services Compensation Scheme declared the firms in default, the Financial Times reported. GPC Sipp and Lifetime Sipp are the latest in a string of private pension operators to collapse, prompting a wave of compensation claims at the FSCS. The FSCS, which provides a safety net for customers of failed investment businesses, said it was accepting claims against GPC Sipp, which was placed into administration on Tuesday.

Faced with the choice of accepting rent cuts or hunting for new retailers to fill hundreds of stores, U.K. mall owners are swallowing their medicine, Bloomberg News reported. Some of Britain’s biggest commercial landlords including Hammerson Plc and British Land Co., voted in favor of a rescue plan for billionaire Philip Green’s Arcadia Group that meant having to accept dozens of store closures and rent cuts of at least 25% at almost 200 sites.

Boris Johnson, the leading candidate to become the U.K.’s next prime minister, laid out his plan to take the country out of the European Union by Oct. 31, if necessary without a divorce deal to smooth Britain’s exit, The Wall Street Journal reported. During a speech Wednesday launching his campaign, the former foreign secretary said he would seek to renegotiate Britain’s exit deal with the EU. At the same time, he would launch preparations across the country to weather a “no-deal” exit that many businesses and economists say would severely damage the economy.

Glencore has hoisted the “for sale” sign over the Chad-focused oil business it acquired five years ago as the miner and commodity trader looks to bolster a share buyback programme by selling non-core assets, The Irish Times reported. The London-listed group, run by Ivan Glasenberg, bought Caracal Energy for $1.6 billion (€1.4 billion) in 2014 as part of a plan to grow its African oil business and secure barrels for its muscular trading arm. However, the deal was completed just before oil prices peaked and Glencore was subsequently forced to take a series of impairment charges.

Philip Green’s Arcadia fashion group has secured backing for a controversial restructuring plan after a meeting of creditors voted to approve it, The Irish Times reported. The owner of brands such as Topshop and Wallis needed three-quarters of its unsecured creditors to back the plan, known as a company voluntary arrangement. At a meeting in London, Arcadia received that – although the company did not immediately divulge by what margin. The move clears the way for 23 of its 566 stores across Ireland and UK to close outright, with rents reduced by up to 70 per cent on 194 more.

The last time Labour politicians governed Britain, they took a swathe of the banking industry into public ownership to avoid its collapse. More than a decade later, banks are growing worried about the party’s latest promise to nationalize utility firms -- a policy that could trigger a fresh set of multibillion pound losses, Bloomberg News reported. Lloyds Banking Group Plc, one of the country’s largest business lenders, has multiple exposures to the utility sector through swaps, derivatives and revolving credit facilities, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Intu Properties Plc, Philip Green-owned Arcadia’s second biggest landlord, is set to oppose the fashion group’s latest sweetened rescue plan, Sky News reported on Tuesday. Reuters reported. Arcadia last week offered better terms for landlords in a restructuring plan for the struggling British fashion retailer, seeking the support of creditors to prevent the group from collapsing into administration.

British retailer Debenhams has received a challenge from shareholder Sports Direct over a restructuring plan that wiped out investors but kept the company operating, Reuters reported. Debenhams is restructuring the chain using so-called company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), which allow retailers to avoid insolvency by offloading unwanted stores and secure lower rents on others and reach a compromise with creditors. The plan gave creditors control of the company in May, at the expense of investors.

British construction firms report having almost a third less work in the pipeline than a year ago, with Brexit and the collapse of larger contractors a major worry, an annual survey of subcontractors showed on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Subcontractors reported having 19 weeks of work to fall back on, down from 27 weeks a year earlier, according to the survey by trade finance provider Bibby Financial Services, an advance copy of which was provided to Reuters.

Britain's withholding of 39 billion pounds it promised the EU as part of its original Brexit plan would not constitute a default in the eyes of credit ratings agencies, but lawyers said it could lead to international court battles, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Boris Johnson, the leading candidate to be Britain's next prime minister, said at the weekend that he would retain the Brexit payment until the EU gave the UK better exit terms. The 39 billion pounds represents outstanding British liabilities to the EU and is to be paid over a number of years.