King’s favourite interior designer hits back at investor pressure October 12, 2026 The under-fire chairwoman of King Charles’s favourite interior design firm has hit back at the “distracting” investor plot to remove her. Dame Dianne Thompson, chair of London-listed Sanderson Design Group, wrote to shareholders on Monday urging them to slap down a major investor’s “disruptive” attempts to oust her. LBV Asset Management, which owns 12 per [...]
Retail bosses ramp up pressure on Healey to cut ‘ridiculous’ tax burden October 11, 2026 The bosses of Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have piled further pressure on the government to slash the “ridiculous” tax burden facing high street firms. Stuart Machin, chief executive of M&S, called on Chancellor John Healey to “restore hope” within the retail industry by turning a corner from Labour’s last two budgets, which he [...]
Retailers suffer ‘sharp decline’ in footfall October 9, 2026 Retail footfall took a dive in September as shoppers stayed away from shopping centres, prompting calls for the Chancellor to slash taxes for high street firms. In September, the UK’s total retail footfall fell by 2.9 per cent, far worse than the 1.7 per cent decline recorded in the month prior, according to the British [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 rallies as oil falls back after Trump’s Iran war pledge October 9, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Donald Trump has said the US has engaged in “productive discussions” with Iran and would refrain from attacking the country before the midterm elections, bringing relief to the oil market. It’s taken the price of Brent crude back slightly, though it has remained around $103 per barrel after [...]
Tesco urges Healey to slash ‘fundamentally unfair’ business rates October 8, 2026 The boss of Tesco has urged John Healey to reform the “fundamentally unfair” business rates system and avoid a so-called warehouse tax. Ken Murphy, chief executive of the UK’s biggest grocer, has become the latest retail industry figure to urge the Chancellor to cut taxes on high street businesses, as Andy Burnham pledges a revival [...]
Asos hackers duped employee in data breach October 8, 2026 The hackers behind a threat to leak Asos customer data duped an employee by posing as a “trusted contact,” the fast-fashion group has said. An unknown group shocked Asos’ millions of customers on Tuesday when they published a push notification on the online retailer’s app, claiming to have hacked into the company and threatening a [...]
As it happened: Oil surges after Trump says he doesn’t ‘really want’ Iran peace October 8, 2026 Welcome back to City AM‘s FTSE 100 liveblog. The FTSE 100 has returned to the red after markets were hit by the spiking price of oil this week that led to a global bond sell-off. The UK’s 10-year gilt yield rose ten basis point yesterday before giving up some gains to settle seven basis points higher at [...]
Employers yearn for growth as jobs market stages ‘fragile recovery’ October 8, 2026 The UK jobs market is beginning to “flicker back to life,” a new report has said, after permanent and temporary placings inched up in the last month. The latest jobs report from KPMG and recruiter REC showed permanent hiring grew for the second consecutive month to a four-year high of 50.9. Meanwhile, temporary billings also [...]
Retailers demand energy bill cuts as costs rise by £440m October 8, 2026 Retailers have urged John Healey to slash green policy costs from energy bills, warning that their electricity costs are set to soar by £440m this year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) – which represents top retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer – has warned that rising “policy costs” on energy bills will inevitably [...]
Shein UK revenue hits £2.5bn despite IPO woes October 7, 2026 Fast-fashion giant Shein took in more than £2.5bn in UK revenue last year as it tightens its hold on British shoppers despite its IPO woes. The e-commerce firm generated £2.58bn in revenue in 2025, newly published accounts show, as its pre-tax profit widened by 18 per cent to £45m. Proof of Shein’s growing presence in [...]