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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‘Silent crisis’ for retailers with record online returns – but can fees stop it?

October 21, 2024

Online returns are set to top £27bn this year as the ‘silent crisis’ continues to squeeze retailers, with over a fifth of non-food purchases now returned, according to fresh data. With 10 per cent of shoppers accounting for a quarter of all returns, so-called ‘serial returners’ will make up £6.6bn of that figure – with [...]
Sir Rocco Forte leads 300 business leaders in call to scrap ‘spectacular own goal’ tourist tax

October 21, 2024

Over 300 business leaders have signed a letter asking Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reinstate tax-free shopping in the UK, calling the so-called tourist tax a “spectacular own goal” for retail. The signatories, which include hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, Paul Smith, Heathrow, John Lewis and Shakespeare’s Globe, have said that if Reeves is serious about promoting [...]
Number of UK house sales jumped by a third after rates cut, before Budget

October 21, 2024

Despite uncertainty about the coming Autumn budget, buyers continued to pile into the property market after the Bank of England cut interest rates, with the number of homes sold up by a third year on year. The number of sales agreed rose by 29 per cent, while the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents [...]
Hollywood Bowl hikes guidance despite slower revenue growth

October 21, 2024

Hollywood Bowl, the owner and operator of bowling alleys across the UK and Canada, has raised its guidance despite slower revenue growth in the UK. In a trading update for the year ended 30 September, the company said it expected to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) for the year ahead of [...]
Brand Architekts: Sales at owner of Skinny Tan and Super Facialist slump

October 21, 2024

Brand Architekts, the beauty specialist behind British brands including Skinny Tan and Super Facialist, has reported a fall in sales as it pivots to fewer, bigger brands. The company reported an underlying loss of £0.4m compared to a loss of £1.2m for 2023, while its gross profit margin increased 1.5 per cent to 41.2 per [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group backs N Brown takeover amid Mulberry pursuit

October 18, 2024

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has backed the £191m proposed takeover of JD Williams-owner N Brown and announced the sale of its 20 per cent stake in the company for £38m. The retail empire, which includes Sports Direct and House of Fraser, holds nearly 95,000,000 shares in the Manchester business and will sell them for 40p [...]
London prime property prices steady despite Budget and non-dom uncertainty

October 18, 2024

Property prices in London’s prime residential market have shown resilience despite buyer jitters ahead of the much-discussed Autumn Budget. While speculation on what taxes Reeves might increase has reached fever pitch – and those taxes are likely to affect the property market – prices picked up in the third quarter. There was a 1.8 per [...]
Future shares drop after boss announces exit

October 18, 2024

Future shares dropped as much as 10 per cent in early deals this morning after the company announced that its boss would be leaving the business after only a year and a half at the helm. The publisher, which owns titles including Country Life, Marie Claire and T3, said chief executive John Steinberg would step down [...]
Mothercare continues to struggle but announces fresh financing

October 18, 2024

Baby products brand Mothercare has reported a drop in sales as it continues to struggle with post-pandemic demand, but has said its new deal with Indian giant reliance will help to shape a turnaround. The retailer said the decline was mainly due to “continuing challenges” in Middle East markets. It told markets this morning that [...]
Supermarkets face calls to ban plastic for fresh goods

October 17, 2024

An influential environmental NGO has called for the Government to ban plastic packaging on fruit and vegetable products in a bid to make grocery shopping more environmentally friendly. Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) have called for a ban on packaging for 21 products including apples, carrots and tomatoes to reduce food and plastic waste. [...]

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The Italy holiday taking in amazing skiing and a lesser-visited city

By: Amber Murray

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