The future of House of Fraser will be settled in the next 48 hours as at least four bidders tabled rescue proposals for the struggling UK department store group. Two people familiar with the situation confirmed that Philip Day, the Dubai-based entrepreneur and owner of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, had put forward a plan that would avoid House of Fraser going into administration first, the Financial Times reported. Representatives for Mr Day declined to comment.

Sterling’s weakness is pushing the UK currency into “rarefied territory” against the euro, according to one analyst, as investors’ anxiety over a hard Brexit increases, the Financial Times reported. A further decline on Wednesday pushed the pound beyond the 90p level against the euro for the first time since October, when traders were becoming enthused at the prospect of the European Central Bank unwinding its stimulus. The value of the pound against the euro is typically seen as a good barometer of the unfolding Brexit negotiations, which are yet to produce a deal.

Insolvency practitioner Gavin Jones discusses the kind of damages that might be claimed from a holding company or its directors in the event of the insolvency of a subsidiary – and the defences that might be available to mitigate these. With the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) of House of Fraser reportedly hanging in the balance, the well-publicised difficulties facing the retail sector are widespread, Real Business reported.

Hilco Capital, the new owner of British home improvement retailer Homebase, will next week detail plans to close around a quarter of its stores, threatening over 1,000 jobs, according to a Sky News report. Sky News said Hilco, which acquired Homebase from Australian group Wesfarmers for a nominal 1 pound in May, was expected to outline proposals for a so called Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring that would close roughly 60 of Homebase’s 249 stores, Reuters reported.

The Share Centre Ltd (TSC) will become the principal nominated broker for the transfer of client money and assets of part of collapsed broker Beaufort, administrators PwC said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. PwC are also in discussion with a second nominated broker for those clients previously managed by Beaufort Asset Clearing Services’ Welsh office in Colwyn Bay, it said in a statement. Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority placed Beaufort, a leading adviser to companies listed on London’s junior market, into insolvency in March. The U.S.

Shares of Britain's Interserve Plc dropped as much as 9 percent on Tuesday, as the construction and services company posted a loss in the first-half hurt by higher costs, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Interserve reported a loss before tax of 6 million pounds, for the six months ended June 30, compared to a profit before tax of 24.9 million pounds last year. Operating profit fell 30 percent to 40.1 million pounds in the latest half-year.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV relocated two units at the heart of its accounting scandal to the U.K. as the retailer embarks on a new phase of recovery after reorganizing debt, Bloomberg News reported. Steinhoff Europe AG and Steinhoff Finance Holdings GmbH will move from Austria to Cheltenham, England -- where the South African company’s U.K. business is based. The supervisory boards of both units have been redrawn, with Steinhoff Chief Financial Officer Philip Dieperink and Commercial Director Louis du Preez holding positions at the Europe division.

Billionaire Philip Day is in the early stages of a potential bid for British retailer House of Fraser to save it from collapse, Sky News reported on Thursday citing sources. The news comes a day after a rescue deal for House of Fraser was thrown into doubt after C.banner canceled planned fundraising for its deal to become a majority shareholder in the department store, Reuters reported. Day could yet decide not to table a formal proposal to acquire House of Fraser depending upon due diligence and discussions with the company, Sky News said citing one source.

Estate agents aren’t popular at the best of times, but Countrywide Plc, one of Britain’s biggest residential agents, really takes the biscuit. The massively discounted rights issue it announced Thursday will increase the share count by almost six times, a Bloomberg View reported. To nobody’s surprise, the stock plunged almost two-thirds, bringing the decline so far this year to about 85 percent. The share sale is fully underwritten and will raise about 129 million pounds ($169 million) net of fees — a bit more than the market value the previous day.

Profits almost doubled at Serco in the first six months of the year, with the outsourcer heralding the earnings growth as a sign its five-year strategy was yielding results despite “less than ideal” market conditions, the Financial Times reported. A drop-off in contracts sent revenues down almost 9 per cent in the half-year to June from the same period a year earlier to £1.4bn, exacerbated by currency headwinds, as acquisitions failed to offset contracts that came to an end.