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 230 Articles

BRC chief: Red tape ‘weighs heavily’ on retailers

Retail

Helen Dickinson, the boss of leading trade body the British Retail Consortium, believes red tape “weighs heavily” on retailers. She speaks to Felix Armstrong about food inflation, workers’ rights and her meeting with the Chancellor. Helen Dickinson was six weeks into her job as chief executive of the BRC when the horsemeat scandal landed on [...]
WH Smith profit grounded as flight cancellations take hold

Retail

WH Smith shares tumbled after the retailer adopted a more “cautious outlook” as the Iran war sparks a slowdown in international tourism. The retailer’s share price fell by more than 15 per cent on Thursday’s open, to 532p, leaving the stock down more than 16 per cent in the year so far. The stationer suffered [...]
Sainsbury’s warns of Iran war hit to customers, share price dips

Retail

Sainsbury’s has warned that the Iran war “will impact both our customers and our business,” as the supermarket giant saw its share price fall. The FTSE 100 grocer’s underlying retail profit fell by more than one per cent to £1bn, which Sainsbury’s said was due to “significant operating cost inflation,” as total sales grew by [...]

Robert Dyas losses double as Dragons Den star eyes turnaround

April 23, 2026

Robert Dyas saw its loss double last year as Dragons Den star Theo Paphitis attempts to reverse the fortunes of the struggling hardware retailer. The company’s pre-tax loss widened to £4.7m last year, more than double its previous £2.3m setback, according to previously unreported Companies House filings. Former Dragons Den magnate Theo Paphitis announced last [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Southwark?

April 23, 2026

A divided borough may end up under no overall control, with Lib Dems faring well in the prosperous north, while social housing heartlands stick with Labour, which has struggled with local infighting and defections to the Greens. From the vantage point of the Shard, at the tip of Southwark, the borough changes dramatically as it [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Richmond upon Thames?

April 23, 2026

Boasting the best quality of life in London, the Lib Dems are dominant and Ed Davey hopes to strengthen control of the borough. But a back-to-basics campaign from the Greens and high taxes are also on the agenda. Richmond, a borough of leafy avenues, stunning nature and quaint pubs is as close to an ideal [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win Redbridge?

April 23, 2026

A rise in support of Nigel Farage’s Reform will be tested in the north of a borough dominated elsewhere by Labour which faces its own fight from the left. Results will be closely watched by Wes Streeting, whose parliamentary constituency is on the patch. Redbridge is a complex constituency. Labour is battling the Greens to [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Newham?

April 23, 2026

What could have become the heartlands for Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party may represent the shortcomings of the former Labour leader’s new venture, as well as the impact of travails of his old comrades in Westminster. Newham is Jeremy Corbyn’s worst nightmare. A fertile seat for progressive politics, almost all of its wards have been Labour-dominated [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Merton?

April 23, 2026

The Lib Dems’ serve up a “Gail’s strategy” to try and ace the vote in Wimbledon’s borough, where calls for affordable homes are rallying support and a local resident’s group has won seats. In Merton, home of the Wimbledon Championships, the Liberal Democrats have their best chance of smashing an ace past the Labour incumbents. [...]
London local elections 2026: Who will win in Lewisham?

April 23, 2026

After a Labour landslide last time around, the red wall to the south of the Thames could crack under a Green onslaught, with housing the key local issue in what has traditionally been a two-way battleground between Labour and the Conservatives. Lewisham Council offers a window into another world. The borough’s last local elections brought [...]

Civil servant defends Starmer over ‘due process’ on Mandelson

Copilot coaching: Can AI train me to run the London Marathon better?

Punchdrunk Theatre founder: These video games changed my life

By: Felix Armstrong

All 230 Articles

Subscribe