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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Year of the fire horse brings glad tidings as Burberry’s bet on China pays off

Retail

FTSE 100 fashion house Burberry had spooked the market with its drastic cost-cutting turnaround, but its full-year results saw the brand canter back to profit. Felix Armstrong looks at the firm’s renewed focus on Chinese consumers British luxury brand Burberry has identified a symbol of “luck and prosperity” according to its latest collection for the [...]
Lego bricks hit a wall: Iconic toymaker goes digital as spin-off builds profit

Retail

Toy titan Lego’s move away from the small plastic bricks that made it famous is gaining pace, as its digital spin-off made a profit in its first year of operation. Lego Digital Play, which aims to reach a new generation of children who play on their iPads rather than with their hands, turned a £1.4m [...]
Tate & Lyle shares soar on £2.7bn takeover bid

Retail

Ingredients giant Tate & Lyle soared almost 50 per cent after it received a £2.7bn takeover bid from an American food firm. The FTSE 250 firm saw its shares jump by 45 per cent on Thursday, to 543p, after its board said it is discussing the proposal from US company Ingredion. The bid stands at [...]

Property giant Landsec bets on retail, claiming ‘no slowdown’ in consumer spending

May 14, 2026

Landsec, the UK’s largest commercial property developer, will shift towards retail property, defying the gloomy mood music by suggesting there is no slowdown in consumer spend. The FTSE 100 firm commands a property empire in which office rents have soared, as high building cost inflation and interest rates stifle supply, while demand heads through the [...]
Watches of Switzerland shares surge on record revenue as US demand soars

May 14, 2026

Watches of Switzerland shares surged after the firm revealed record revenue growth, boosted by wealthy Americans flocking to luxury watches. The UK’s largest luxury watch retailer hailed a 13 per cent jump in revenue to £1.8bn in the year to May, as revenue climbed by 24 per cent to £1.2bn in its US market alone. [...]
Burberry swings back to profit after cost-cutting regime

May 14, 2026

Burberry has returned to profit as it hails a “meaningful inflection point” in its turnaround, following drastic job cuts and savings drives. The FTSE 100 fashion house took £49m in pre-tax profit in the year to March, marking a recovery from its £66m pre-tax loss in the year prior. The brand has pivoted towards “timeless [...]
Housing market ‘still in grip’ of Iran war slump

May 14, 2026

The UK housing market is “still in the grip” of an Iran war slump as higher mortgage rates and inflation fears weigh on buyer and seller demand. Brits are still holding back on buying homes as average house prices slip further, a market survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed. The [...]
Labour ‘failing’ renters: Brits work for 133 days to pay landlords

May 14, 2026

Today’s the day when Brits will finally stop working just to pay their landlords and start earning money for their own pockets, with 14 May the point in the year when the average tenant has brought in enough income to pay for a year’s accommodation. Known as the “cost of rent day”, it now arrives [...]
Tech firm behind in-store ads at Currys and Iceland goes bust

May 13, 2026

The firm that provides high street giants Currys and Iceland with in-store digital advertising has declared insolvency, City AM can reveal. Software company Stratacache announced its winding-up of its UK operations and appointed liquidators on Wednesday, according to insolvency filings. This comes only months after the US digital screen specialist partnered with budget supermarket giant [...]
Labour’s holiday tax ‘will make staycations more expensive’

May 13, 2026

A leading trade body has attacked the government’s plans to push through a so-called holiday tax, which it says will make Brits’ staycations more expensive. Labour unveiled an Overnight Visitor Levy Bill as part of the King’s Speech, which provides the legislative framework for mayors to be handed the power to impose a tourism tax [...]

British Gas to cough up £20m for ‘unfair treatment’ of vulnerable customers

David Beckham becomes Britain’s first billionaire sportsman

Pan Pacific London director: The City is ‘incredibly special’

By: Felix Armstrong

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