By: Amber Murray

Retail Reporter Amber Murray is a reporter at City A.M., covering retail, luxury and property stores. Prior to City A.M., she worked as a sub-editor for Fastmarkets and completed a Masters in Financial Journalism at City University. Please get in touch with stories/tips/coffees at amber.murray@cityam.com

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‘Urgent and consistent’ policies needed to revive SME housebuilding

November 4, 2025

The government must fix the ‘overly complex, costly, and slow’ operating environment for small and medium construction companies to unlock housebuilding, according to a new report. Delivery of new homes could be increased by up to 56 per cent – 100,000 properties a year – if barriers to building are removed, according to the State [...]
Brits plump for premium hotels as budget stays suffer

November 3, 2025

The gap between hotel prices has continued to expand as Brits plump for premium travel over budget options, according to new figures. Average room rates of UK luxury hotels rose from £380.30 to £405.18 in August year on year, and from £136.33 to £141.57 for mid market hotels, data from RSM shows. Room rates in [...]
Experian to include rent payments in credit scores

November 3, 2025

FTSE 100 giant Experian has announced plans to include rental payments in a major revamp of the formation of credit scores. The agency said it was overhauling its scoring system to better reflect “more of the everyday financial behaviours that matter” which included things “like paying rent or reducing overdraft use”. It follows a warning [...]
Reeves’ Budget tax hikes force nearly 5,000 pubs to the brink

November 3, 2025

The tax hikes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last year’s Budget have contributed to almost 5,000 pubs now being rated at maximum risk and becoming technically insolvent, according to new research. Figures from Price Bailey have revealed that just over 4,7000 pubs are now in that position, a 14 per cent rise on this [...]
Reeves plans Autumn Budget tax raid on mansions

November 1, 2025

Rachel Reeves is strongly considering a change to council tax payments as a way for owners of more expensive houses to pay more, according to people familiar with the matter. The move would be instead of a direct selling tax on expensive houses, which experts have warned would simply gum up the market as fewer [...]
Starmer reprimands Reeves for ‘inadvertent failure’ over rental licence mishap

October 30, 2025

Sir Keir Starmer has sent a sharply worded email to Rachel Reeves criticising the Chancellor for misleading suggestions that she did not know she needed a licence to rent out her family home. Reeves has had to backtrack from earlier suggestions that she and her husband had not been aware of the Southwark Council rental [...]
Reeves may be forced to pay back £38,000 in rent after breach of housing rules

October 30, 2025

Rachel Reeves may be forced to pay back tens of thousands in rent to her tenants after leasing her Southwark home without a license. Southwark’s rules on housing allow tenants to claim up to 12 months of rent if they’re a tenant of an unlicensed property. Given that Reeves has been renting out her £3,200-a-month [...]
New 1,200-home neighbourhood unveiled in Elizabeth Line-linked Southall

October 30, 2025

A new 1,200-home neighbourhood has been unveiled in Southall as the city continues to expand out along the Elizabeth line. Quarter Yards will deliver 1,273 new homes and over 105,000 sq ft of commercial space. Marcus Blake, managing director at one of the developers, St George, said he has seen “strong demand” for housing in [...]
How London’s luxury property market ground to a halt

October 30, 2025

On Bishops Avenue, it is quiet. On a recent weekend walk down the mile-long parade of luxury mansions, not a single other person could be spotted strolling along the pavement. The property market for Hampstead-based The Bishops Avenue, known locally as Billionaire’s Row, is equally quiet. Aside from one high-end house snapped up by a [...]
Is Next still a bellwether for the UK high street?

October 30, 2025

Next sailed past its projected sales figures this Autumn, the high street stalwart told markets on Wednesday, despite wider issues in the UK high street. Overall sales rose 10.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to October 25, far above guidance of 4.5 per cent, with international sales growth at 38.8 per cent quarter on [...]

UK fintech Zempler Bank gets snapped up for less than half its previous valuation

Why KKR-Arctos is not just about private equity getting bigger

The unlikely City florist that once served the royals

By: Amber Murray

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