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SlideBelts, an innovative belt company based in El Dorado Hills, Calif., that is among the nation’s fastest-growing businesses, filed for chapter 11 protection last week, the Sacramento Bee reported. The company, which offers belts without holes that use a ratchet system based on a Moldovan military design that owners Brig and Michelle Taylor patented for sale, was recently named on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the United States, with three-year revenue growth of 328 percent. Yet this rapid expansion may be to blame for SlideBelts’ recent bankruptcy filing. From its origins as a startup working out of a garage in 2007 and its early successes tapping into a niche market, the company organized in 2013 and a few years later, it had expanded to almost 40 employees and was selling nearly 60,000 units annually, the declaration said. Under this fast-paced model, which propelled the company to $12.3 million in revenue last year, SlideBelts assumed more risk, Brig Taylor said in the declaration, and he now seeks to scale the business down to a more sustainable model — wherein the company would be making $5 million to $7 million in annual revenue. “The primary reason for SlideBelts’ need for reorganization in chapter 11 is that the company needs time to transition from ‘sprint mode’ into a slower ‘marathon mode,’ ” the declaration said.

Lolli & Pops Inc., a San Francisco-based candy retailer with 69 U.S. shops, has filed for bankruptcy after being locked out of about 10 percent of its stores last week, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The purveyor of such sweets as strawberry-champagne bark, blue-raspberry cotton candy and cookies-and-creme crispycakes sought protection from creditors Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Paxion Capital LP has offered to provide up to $7 million in financing to help Lolli & Pops look for a buyer while under bankruptcy protection. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based investment firm is also a major equity investor in the business, as is Greenoaks Capital Partners LLC. Other shareholders include Riverwood Capital and V-Ten Investments LLC, a court filing says. Unsecured creditors include First Republic Bank , which is owed $7 million for a loan, the retailer said in court papers. The company’s “liabilities are mostly with its vendors and landlords,” said Chief Restructuring Officer Jeff Nerland in a court filing. The chapter 11 petition lists liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million.

Loot Crate Inc., a “geek and gamer” subscription business whose backers include actor Robert Downey Jr.’s venture-capital firm, has filed for bankruptcy, saying it needs protection from creditors to complete millions of dollars in customer orders, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Los Angeles-based company said its debts include more than $30 million owed to trade creditors, many of which have sued the company. It also has more than $20 million in customer orders for which it has been paid but hasn’t yet shipped. Loot Crate, founded in 2012, filed its chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., on Sunday. The company plans to sell itself to Money Chest LLC, a lender and bondholder affiliated with an investment group that includes one of the world’s biggest collectible manufacturers and distributors, court papers said. The purchase will be subject to court approval and better and higher bids. Money Chest also has agreed to provide up to $10 million in financing to help the company get through bankruptcy.

Accessories and clothing retailer Charming Charlie Holdings Inc. said it plans to close its remaining 261 stores and has permanently stopped online sales as part of its second bankruptcy filing in less than two years, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Houston-based company, which has more than 3,300 employees, said it has “made the difficult decision to seek authority to close and wind down or conduct” store-closing sales for all of its remaining bricks-and-mortar stores. It said it made the decision after trying numerous cost-cutting moves and closing about 100 stores during its earlier bankruptcy. “These efforts simply were not sufficient to stabilize” the businesses “and ensure long-term profitability.” Some stores had been staffed by a single employee for hours on end, it said.

The parent of residential mortgage lender Stearns Lending LLC has filed for bankruptcy after agreeing with majority owner Blackstone Group LP to a debt-restructuring plan that will erase more than $180 million in bond debt from its balance sheet, the Wall Street Journal reported. Stearns Holdings LLC, based in Santa Ana, Calif., filed for chapter 11 protection today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, listing assets and liabilities each in the range of $1 billion and $10 billion. Blackstone has agreed to pump $60 million in new money into the mortgage lender as part of the balance-sheet restructuring, which also includes commitments of $1.5 billion from warehouse lenders. Blackstone’s private-equity arm purchased a majority stake in Stearns in 2015. Stearns has about $184 million in outstanding bonds that mature next August and sold most of its mortgage-servicing rights last year to pay down a portion of its bond debt.

Restaurants Unlimited Inc., an eatery chain owned by private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming state-mandated wage hikes and changing customer habits for its financial problems, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Seattle-based company, which owns and operates 35 full-service restaurants in six states under brands that include Kincaid’s, Palomino and Henry’s Tavern, said it plans to put itself up for sale as part of the proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company owes about $39 million to secured lenders that have refrained from taking action on the defaulted obligations since last year. It also owes $7.6 million to unsecured trade creditors that include seafood, produce and meat suppliers as well as Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners. A number of landlords are also listed as unsecured creditors.

Monitronics International Inc., operator of Brinks Home Security, filed a prepackaged bankruptcy in order to eliminate $885 million in debt with its creditors, the Dallas Morning News reported. Monitronics, a subsidiary of Colorado-based Ascent Capital Group Inc., said that it expects to emerge from chapter 11 protection in 75 days with what it describes as "the strongest balance sheet in its industry." When it exits bankruptcy, the company said that it has $295 million in financing lined up to execute on its strategic plan. The restructuring is supported by holders of 91 percent of Monitronics' secured term loans and 81 percent of its senior unsecured notes, according to the company.

Norwegian oil and gas rig operator Dolphin Drilling filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, leading creditors to seize its key assets in a restructuring that will see the company maintain operations, Reuters reported. Formerly known as Fred. Olsen Energy, Dolphin Drilling ASA had debt of just over $1 billion at the end of 2018 and a net loss for the year of almost $300 million, its annual report shows. Once a dominant supplier of drilling rigs to oil and gas firms exploring the North Sea, Dolphin was hit hard by a collapse in oil prices from 2014 to 2016 as well as competition from newcomers that drove down rig rates. Its share price has fallen 88 percent over the past year and was down 6.6 percent early today until trading was suspended before the bankruptcy announcement. While the old holding company will be wound down, its rig-owning subsidiaries were restructured and will continue to offer services to oil firms. Investment funds advised by Strategic Value Partners will be the main shareholders of the new, reconstructed company. Read more.

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