Smiths City liquidation sales across the South over the weekend left shelves stripped of their stock in just one day, as staff are left in the dark about what comes next.

The future of Smiths City remains up in the air with more advice likely by the end of the week.

The 107-year-old retailer went into voluntary administration on Tuesday last week and on Friday announced a nationwide liquidation sale over the weekend.

Seven of the eight stores — Auckland, Christchurch, Greymouth, Oamaru, Alexandra, Gore and Invercargill — reopened to sell remaining stock.

The exception was the Dunedin store, which remained closed.

The Wānaka store closed last month.

In Gore, hoards of bargain-hunters left the shelves empty on Saturday, with…

The High Court has granted an order placing construction giant Murray & Roberts Holdings under provisional liquidation.

This comes after one of the company’s creditors applied for the final, alternatively provisional, winding-up of the company in August 2025.

On Monday, 8 September, the court granted this order and placed Murray & Roberts Holdings under provisional liquidation.

In terms of this liquidation order, the matter will return to court on 17 October 2025, at which time the creditor will seek a final winding-up order.

Founded in 1902, Murray & Roberts is one of South Africa’s oldest companies and has been pivotal in building the country’s mining infrastructure over the past century.

However, the…

According to a recent study conducted by Helix Law, a firm of litigation specialists based in the South of England, business insolvencies surged across the UK in 2024, with thousands of companies pushed into collapse by rising costs, stubborn inflation and tighter borrowing conditions.

While all regions in the country have undoubtedly been feeling the pressure, new research shows that there are, in fact, clear geographical differences in how businesses are coping. Indeed, some areas are proving particularly vulnerable, with survival rates plummeting and insolvencies accelerating at an alarming rate.

The findings of this report reveal not only where businesses are failing but also why certain parts of the UK are bearing the brunt, and…

In the debate on international development, there is one uncomfortable truth we can no longer ignore: Debt is quietly undoing decades of progress. Right now, at least 1 in 3 developing countries are spending more on interest payments than on health care or education. That means children missing out on school, hospitals without medicines, and communities unable to recover from climate disasters.

Debt is not a sidenote in the development debate, it is the fault line upon which progress now stands or falls. And because around 90% of this debt is governed by English law, the United Kingdom is uniquely placed to help fix it by enacting new regulations.

Before entering the U.K.Parliament, I worked as a development banker. I have seen both the…