By: Felix Armstrong

Retail Reporter Felix Armstrong is City AM's retail reporter, covering retail, hospitality and property news. He has previously written for The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph and The i Paper. Email Felix at Felix.Armstrong@cityam.com

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Supermarket bosses meet Rachel Reeves amid dire food inflation warning

Retail

The bosses of some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets met Chancellor Rachel Reeves in emergency cost of living talks on Wednesday, amid warnings that food inflation could rise to double digits this year. Leading supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons attended Downing Street after efforts to gather industry bosses last week were abandoned amid concerns [...]
Hotel investment tops £1bn in bumper start to year

Hospitality

UK hotels attracted more than £1bn investment in the first quarter of this year, as the sector defies business rate rises and market uncertainty caused by the Iran war. Hotel investment volume surpassed £1.1bn in the first three months of the year, marking a 63 per cent increase on the £680m recorded in the same [...]
Matcha mayhem: Blank Street eyes $100m expansion

Retail

Blank Street coffee is reportedly in early talks to raise at least $100m in new funding as it eyes further expansion. The cafe chain, which has more than 50 shops in the UK, is known for its matcha drinks and has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2020. The business operates dozens of locations [...]

Rightmove accused of ‘bullying’ estate agents in £1.5bn legal battle

April 1, 2026

Property giant Rightmove has been accused of “bullying” its members into making payments, as hundreds of estate agents support a £1.5bn legal claim against the firm. The FTSE 100 company has been accused of charging excessive and unfair fees to the estate agents and new home developers that used its property listing portal as part [...]
Berkeley shares plummet as it ‘pulls up drawbridge’ and stops buying land

April 1, 2026

Shares in leading housebuilder Berkeley plummeted on Wednesday after it paused housebuilding to protect its balance sheet against an “unprecedented increase in cost and regulation”. The firm’s share price fell by more than 17 per cent shortly after markets opened, to a decade low, leaving the stock down 28 per cent this year at 2,832p. [...]
Two-thirds of hospitality firms to cut jobs as April tax rises ‘suffocate’ sector

April 1, 2026

Two-thirds of hospitality businesses will be forced to cut jobs and one in seven will shut altogether as a direct result of “suffocating” April tax rises, leading trade bodies have found. More than half (51 per cent) of hospitality firms will cancel investment plans and 42 per cent will reduce trading hours, according to a [...]
‘Unprecedented’ – Food inflation to soar to 9 per cent by end of year

April 1, 2026

Food inflation will soar from three to nine per cent by the end of this year due to the “unprecedented” energy and supply chain shocks caused by the Iran war, a leading association has warned. The rate of food price growth is currently at 3.3 per cent but will climb to nine per cent by [...]
Family-run construction firms pushed ‘to brink’ by inheritance tax

April 1, 2026

Family-run construction firms are being pushed to the brink of insolvency by reforms to inheritance tax which undermine Labour’s housebuilding target, a trade body has warned. Plant-hire firms – which provide machinery and services to the construction sector – are almost always family run and are being forced to scale back by inheritance tax changes, [...]
Marmite maker Unilever creates food empire in $45bn merger

March 31, 2026

Unilever has sealed a $45bn merger of its food brands with US spice and seasoning giant McCormick, forging a $60bn food empire in which the London-based firm holds a majority stake. Unilever and its shareholders will own 65 per cent in the new body, with the firm receiving $15.7bn (£11.6bn) in cash and the equivalent [...]
German backers of Olympia redevelopment add new £500m investment

March 31, 2026

The German investors behind the redevelopment of Kensington’s Olympia exhibition centre have committed an additional £500m as the consortium refinances the project. Deutsche Bank AG will hand a £900m loan to the consortium behind the project, which includes German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer and insurer Versorgungskammer Bayern. The project is one of London’s biggest regeneration [...]

NBA and EuroLeague line up fresh talks over compromise deal

PSG sign deal with Whoop as Qatar links grow

Les Liaisons Dangereuses review: Aiden Turner is even sexier than Poldark

By: Felix Armstrong

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