According to Sky News, the company - which this week was prevented from making a loan repayment after its Russian lender was sanctioned - is preparing to bring in AlixPartners to advise it on discussions with lenders. Sky cited sources as saying that AlixPartners' appointment could be finalised within days. Earlier in the week, Petropavlovsk said it had been prevented from making a loan interest payment of $560,000 because the UK government had sanctioned Gazprombank. It said it was in the early stages of discussions with its advisers and Gazprombank relating to a potential restructuring of the group's debt within the limitations imposed by the regulations. Sky said the alternative options available to Petropavlovsk were unclear, and would partly depend on the length of the sanctions affecting Gazprombank.