Greggs eyes 3,500 sites – but its plans could prove to be flaky July 30, 2026 Sausage roll titan Greggs is already a fixture of almost every British high street, but it’s not done yet. Felix Armstrong chews through its latest expansion plans As Brits jet off to Spain for their summer holidays this year, they will be met with a familiar sight as they touch down at Tenerife airport. Beloved [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers circles Burberry in latest luxury swoop July 29, 2026 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is eyeing up a holding in Burberry as its latest push into luxury fashion. Frasers has revealed that it holds the rights to a 4.2 per cent stake in the British fashion house, which would make Ashley’s group one of its biggest shareholders. The position is held through put options, which [...]
On a roll: Greggs shares soar as it doubles down on aggressive expansion July 29, 2026 Shares in Greggs soared on Wednesday as the bakery chain said it plans to reach at least 3,500 stores in the UK after a jump in profit in the first half of the year. The sausage roll purveyor reported a 20 per cent boost in pre-tax profit to £76m in the six months to June, [...]
As it happened: Stocks reach all-time high; US fires back at ‘surprise’ Iran attacks July 29, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday and the UK’s blue-chip index surged in early trading to reach an all-time high, brushing off the latest outbreak of attacks in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 hit 10,945 on the market open, eclipsing the previous intraday record of 10,934, achieved in February on the [...]
Next and Frasers go head to head for control of Harvey Nichols July 28, 2026 Retail giants Next and Frasers are set to go head to head for control of ailing department store Harvey Nichols when the Hong Kong-owned firm takes bids from British suitors later on Tuesday. The Knightsbridge-headquartered department store chain was put up for sale last month by its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon, and [...]
Ocado lets Marks & Spencer off hook in £190m payout dispute July 28, 2026 Ocado has quietly let Marks & Spencer off the hook in a long-running £190m dispute over its home delivery joint venture. FTSE-250 Ocado has dropped its pursuit of the payout from M&S, which it believed it was owed as part of the business they run together, City AM understands. The two companies took a 50-50 [...]
EY and London managing partner fined over £1.3m for audit failure July 28, 2026 Big Four giant EY and its London office managing partner have been hit with a nearly £1.3m fine by the financial watchdog for audit failings related to retailer Made.com in 2021. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the sanction follows an investigation into Julie Carlyle, who manages the City office and a portfolio of many [...]
Unilever turns to ‘avocado mayonnaise’ as food weighs on profit ahead of spin-off July 28, 2026 Unilever has turned to novel products including “avocado mayonnaise” in a bid to boost ailing sales in its food arm, which is poised to be spun off in a £33bn deal. The consumer goods giant upgraded its sales expectations but saw the performance of its food business and European operations drag on the group’s operating [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump as oil drops; Unilever shares soar on decade-best sales July 28, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the UK’s blue-chip index has made strong gains following a peaky start to the day. The markets took a boost yesterday after oil dropped back after reaching two-month highs of more than $100 per barrel last week when the Iran backed-Houthis took responsibility for tanker [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise; oil falls after Trump pauses Iran strikes July 27, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Monday and the FTSE 100 has made a positive start to the week, gaining more than 70 points on the market open after oil prices began to fall from last week’s two-month highs. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, slipped to $90.58 in early trading [...]