Hollywood Bowl strikes share boom to defy consumer spending fears May 27, 2026 Hollywood Bowl shares have rocketed after the firm said Brits are prioritising nights out to the bowling alley over going shopping as they cut down on non-essential spending. The UK’s largest tenpin bowling operator said it has seen a “robust” performance even as consumer confidence plummets amid the Iran war, sending its share price up [...]
Pets at Home hails ‘better momentum’ despite profit slip May 27, 2026 Pets at Home has hailed “better momentum” in its bit to return to growth, as profit and revenue fell again while its turnaround remains in its early stages. The FTSE 250 pet supplies retailer and veterinary group saw profit before tax dip by 28 per cent to £86.5m, while group revenue fell by one per [...]
Energy price cap to jump 13 per cent this summer May 27, 2026 UK households will be hit by a sharp £200 rise in energy bills next month, leaving Brits bracing for a painful winter of higher bills off the back of the Iran war. From 1 July to 30 September the annual energy price cap will be £1,862 per year, up from the current cap of £1,641, [...]
As it happened: US-Iran peace hopes sends oil lower; Brits handed energy price cap blow May 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Global markets were able to take the new developments in the Middle East in their stride on Tuesday amid hopes a peace deal was on the horizon. The FTSE 100 ended the day in the green and despite some choppy trading oil prices eased. This [...]
Octopus acquires legal team to boost bereavement services with AI May 27, 2026 Octopus Legacy, a bereavement service owned by Octopus Group, has acquired a private client team from a large UK-based law firm as part of a push to speed up its services using AI. The company’s legal arm, Octopus Legal Services, has taken on a team of 50 legal professionals from NewLaw Solicitors in “a significant [...]
West Ham face exodus threat amid 50 per cent cut to player wages May 27, 2026 West Ham’s players will be hit with a 50 per cent wage cut after their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed. City AM understands that a relegation decrease clause is written into all player contracts, a factor that will make retaining their star players difficult as the club attempts to rebuild a squad capable [...]
15m workers not ‘sufficiently’ saving for retirement, says top pensions chief May 27, 2026 Tens of millions of working people will face a crisis in retirement with the current automatic salary contribution “no longer sufficient,” the boss of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has warned. Around 15 million people are set to suffer in retirement as workers use their automatic eight per cent auto-enrolment pension contribution as [...]
Andy Briggs: UK is hurtling towards a pensions disaster May 27, 2026 Without radical change, Britain will find itself amidst a pensions disaster, with millions worse off, writes Andy Briggs.
Crude language is the least of BP’s Manifold problems May 27, 2026 Yesterday saw the ousting of BP chair Albert Manifold after less than one year in the role. According to various media reports, Manifold was “shouty” and “aggressive”, with a “volcanic temper”. But try as it might to escape crude language, BP’s board may soon suffer similar missives from its shareholders after another c-suite scandal left [...]
The Debate: Is Britain’s minimum wage too high? May 27, 2026 Rishi Sunak has confessed minimum wage hikes he oversaw were too high. But is raising wages during a cost of living crisis really so bad?