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

All 83 Articles

Balfour Beatty shares soar as firm bets on UK energy and defence

Property

Balfour Beatty shares jumped after the construction firm posted surging profit as it doubles down on bets on UK energy, transport and defence infrastructure. Profit at the FTSE 250 firm grew 51 per cent to £323m in the year to December 2025, as revenue climbed 7.5 per cent to £10.8bn and its order book reached [...]
‘Easiest time to rent in six years’ as housing supply improves

Property

Renters in the UK are enjoying the lowest level of competition for homes in six years, as price growth slows and stock increases. While 6.5 renters competed for every property last year, the average number of enquiries per home is now 4.8 – the lowest rate since 2020, according to Zoopla’s quarterly rental market report. [...]
Waterstones to book chairman as London listing gains pace

Retail

Bookselling titan Waterstones is on the hunt for a chairman as it picks up the pace on its rumoured London listing. Elliott Management, the activist equity firm which owns Waterstones, has hired headhunters at Russell Reynolds Associates to draw up a list of candidates to join the bookseller’s board. This is the latest signal that [...]

Land development transparency plans ‘solve problem that doesn’t exist’

March 10, 2026

The government has been accused of offering a solution to “a problem that doesn’t exist” over an initiative requiring landowners to publicly declare options over land. The new policy, set to be unveiled by planning minister Matthew Pennycook on Monday, is intended to help small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders by boosting transparency. The government hopes [...]
TG Jones owner Modella Capital weighs latest asset sale

March 10, 2026

The investment firm which owns TG Jones is reportedly considering the latest exit from its string of retail acquisitions. Modella Capital has been discussing a potential sale of Wynsors World of Shoes, a northern shoeseller which the firm acquired just three months ago, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. The private equity firm has repeatedly [...]
Peak pizza? Domino’s profit dips amid weak sales

March 10, 2026

Domino’s Pizza has suffered a 15 per cent profit slice as it contended with weak sales and a “challenging consumer backdrop”. While total turnover at the FTSE 250-listed pizza chain increased 1.5 per cent to £1.6bn, the like-for-like figure – excluding variables like VAT – inched up only by 0.2 per cent in the year [...]
Persimmon: Housebuilder posts profit as property market ‘recovers’

March 10, 2026

Housebuilder Persimmon toasted rising profit and house completions, buoyed by a property market which it says is recovering from last year’s Budget slowdown. Persimmon notched rising profit before tax in the year to December 2025, up 11 per cent to £397m, and built 11,905 homes, up 12 per cent from the year before. Investors rewarded [...]
Small house building firms in ‘existential crisis’ as sales rates plummet

March 9, 2026

Falling sales are pushing small and medium-sized (SME) house builders into an “existential crisis” that could threaten the government’s house building ambitions. SME house builders have seen average sales drop by 41 per cent between 2021 and 2025, according to a report by estate agents Savills for the Land, Planning and Development Federation (LPDF). The [...]
Hiring intentions at lowest level in nearly 15 years

March 8, 2026

British businesses are the most pessimistic about hiring they have been in nearly 15 years, according to consultancy firm BDO. UK bosses are facing difficult hiring decisions as the cost of employment ramps up, with the BDO’s employment index at its weakest reading since March 2011. The index, which reflects hiring intentions, held at 93.30 [...]
Staff bonus up in air as John Lewis tempers expectations

March 8, 2026

Many of John Lewis’ more than 70,000 employees will be hoping for some good news next week, as the retail giant will announce whether it will be reinstating its sorely missed staff bonus after years of freezes. The bonus handed out to staff had long been a central part of John Lewis’ brand, as symbolic [...]

Balfour Beatty shares soar as firm bets on UK energy and defence

Birmingham City: How Wagner and West Mids Mayor unlocked stadium plan

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By: Felix Armstrong

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