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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Struggling Pizza Hut snapped up by private equity in $2.7bn deal

Hospitality

Struggling restaurant chain Pizza Hut is set to be offloaded to private equity by its owner Yum Brands in a $2.7bn deal. Most of the pizza giant’s global operations will be sold to Long Range Capital just months after 250 restaurants were put on the chopping block. Pizza Hut’s locations in mainland China are excluded [...]
Everyman set to quit London stock exchange over investor pressure

Hospitality

Luxury cinema chain Everyman is set to drop its London listing over pressure from its shareholders, including an investment firm poised to trigger a takeover bid. Everyman said on Tuesday that it is likely to recommend to its shareholders that it drops its listing on the challenger AIM market, sending its share price plummeting. The [...]
Debenhams owner hails ‘successful transformation’ as loss narrows

Retail

Debenhams’ owner has hailed a “successful transformation” following its drastic turnaround, though the fast-fashion group still posted a £100m loss. The AIM-listed group, which owns brands including Debenhams, Pretty Little Thing and Karen Millen, saw its pre-tax loss narrow by 69 per cent to £108m in the year to February. The fashion firm, which is [...]

Boots moves closer to London float but billionaire Westons circle

June 16, 2026

With one potential suitor out of the running, high street titan Boots is moving closer to a London float, a move that would mark a return to the FTSE 100 for one of the UK’s biggest retailers and deliver a major boost to UK capital markets. The 177-year-old British pharmacy saw the withdrawal of Sigma [...]
‘Poorly designed’ policies threatening London’s grip on global tourism

June 15, 2026

London’s competitiveness as a leading culture and tourism destination is being undermined by “poorly designed” policies, the West End’s leading business advocate has warned. Dee Corsi, chief executive of the New West End Company (NWEC), has said that London is “competing with one hand tied behind its back” compared to global rivals whose policymakers are [...]
Australian pharma giant Sigma quits Boots takeover talks

June 15, 2026

Australian pharmacy giant Sigma has walked away from talks over a £7.5bn private takeover of Boots, renewing hopes that the high street pharmacy could float in London. The Australian firm said on Monday that a deal with Boots would not meet its investment objectives, leaving just the billionaire Weston family in sales talks with the [...]
House price slump blamed on World Cup and heatwave

June 15, 2026

House prices made a surprise drop in June because Brits are too busy watching the World Cup to move home, Rightmove has said. The average UK house price dropped by 0.6 per cent to £376,191 this month, according to the property portal, marking the biggest June fall in 14 years. Rightmove said this “unusual” slump [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers makes £166m play for shoe firm Accent

June 15, 2026

Frasers Group has launched a £166m takeover bid of Australian shoe company Accent while calling for the removal of its chairman over “poor performance”. The fashion conglomerate has offered to buy all of the shares in Accent it does not already own for 65 Australian cents per share, valuing the offer at A$136m (£166m). This [...]
Flying at Heathrow will cost ‘significantly more’ due to third runway bid

June 12, 2026

Heathrow’s bid for a third runway will “significantly” push up the cost of flying from the UK’s biggest airport, a leading aviation expert has warned. The airport’s expansion will “inevitably” push up ticket fares because it is set to be allowed to hike the fees it charges to airports, Alton Aviation’s Ronan Murphy told City [...]
Nearly half of retail workers considering quitting over mental health

June 12, 2026

Nearly half of the UK’s millions of retail workers are considering quitting the sector over concerns for their mental health, as the majority report facing abuse at work. Retail is the sector in which the most workers (52 per cent) have faced verbal abuse in the past year, as 44 per cent mull quitting the [...]

2026 World Cup: England only attract half as many bets as Norway to lift trophy

2026 World Cup: England only attract half as many bets as Norway to lift trophy

Old Pulteney releases 50-year-old whisky for 200th anniversary

By: Felix Armstrong

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