The number of British retailers falling into administration rose 8 percent in the second quarter on a year ago and will continue climbing as consumers are squeezed by rising prices and government cut backs, consultants Deloitte said, Reuters reported. Some 43 retailers, including wine chain Oddbins, home improvements group Focus DIY and fashion chain Jane Norman, entered administration -- a form of protection from creditors -- in the March-June quarter, Deloitte said on Monday.

Halliwells' administrators have launched a claim in the High Court against a group of former partners in a bid to reclaim more than £21m gained through a controversial 'reverse premium' property payout, LegalWeek.com reported. BDO launched the claim against Halliwells' former chairman Ian Austin and 31 other ex-partners in the Chancery Division of the High Court earlier this month (4 July). Addleshaw Goddard is advising BDO on the £21.13m claim, with litigation firm Peters & Peters acting for 30 of the 32 defendants.

Tokio Marine Europe Insurance Ltd, a part of the Tokio Marine Group, said it filed a petition for protection from creditors under Chapter 15 in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan, London South East reported on a Reuters story. The company, which underwrites commercial property, casualty and marine insurance, in a court filing on Monday listed assets of more than $100 million and liabilities of more than $100 million.

The public sector pensions liabilities stood at 1.1 trillion pounds ($1.763 trillion) in 2009/10, the government will say on Wednesday, a Treasury source told Reuters. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is seeking to push through reforms of public sector pensions to make them more affordable as part of an austerity plan to eliminate a record budget deficit.

U.K. care home operator Southern Cross Healthcare Group PLC has finally collapsed under the weight of its unpayable rent bill, saying Monday that it plans to cease operating and hand its homes over to landlords. The arrangement promises to resolve the financial turmoil at one of the U.K.'s largest private care organizations, with 31,000 residents in its homes, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported.

Struggling retailer Homeform, owner of Moben Kitchens and Dolphin Bathrooms, appointed Deloitte as administrators on Wednesday and sold its Sharps Bedroom business, Reuters reported. Homeform, which has over 160 showrooms in the UK and 1,208 staff, said last month it was looking to appoint administrators after trading in its kitchen and bathroom units was hit by cash-strapped customers curbing spending during tough economic times. Deloitte, a business advisory firm, said Moben, Dolphin and another of Homeform's businesses, Kitchens Direct, had been closed down and were up for sale.

Bidders for over 600 Lloyds Banking Group branches have less than a week to pitch for a deal that could incur costs of 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) for the part-nationalised British bank, Reuters reported. The costs of transferring and implementing the branches are likely to be far higher for Lloyds if it sells the branches to a start-up bank, which potentially gives an edge to established rivals who have infrastructure in place. Lloyds has been told to sell 632 branches by European regulators as the price of being bailed out by the taxpayer.

The UK government faces a test of its determination to drive through its austerity programme when teachers and civil servants strike on Thursday over plans to reform public sector pensions, Reuters reported. Many schools across the country will remain closed and air passengers face delays when immigration officials join a walkout that could involve up to 750,000 workers.

Struggling British women's fashion retailer Jane Norman has become the latest victim of a downturn in shopper spending on discretionary items, collapsing into administration, Reuters reported. A spokeswoman for business advisory firm Zolfo Cooper said on Monday it had been appointed administrator of the firm, which trades from over 200 stores and concessions in the UK and Ireland, employing over 1,600. Press reports have said British department store group Debenhams may be interested in buying the Jane Norman brand and residual stock.

Britain is facing a tsunami of house repossessions as soon as interest rates start to rise, one of the country's leading bankers has warned. Richard Banks, the chief executive of UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the body that runs the £80bn of mortgages bailed out by the taxpayer during the banking crisis, also said in an interview with the Guardian that the Labour government's pleas at the start of the crisis for lenders to keep families in their homes was forcing some homeowners further into debt.