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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FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to slip; US hits back at ‘surprise’ Iran attacks to end pause in conflict

Markets

Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday and the UK’s blue-chip index is set to fall after the US retaliated against ‘surprise’ Iran strikes overnight. The US launched joint strikes with Saudi Arabia against Tehran-backed militias in Iraq after Washington claimed its forces in the Middle East were targeted by “an attempted surprise [...]
Lloyd’s of London allows staff to work from home as heatwave hits the capital

Business

Lloyd’s of London is allowing its staff to stay away from the historic City building as yet another heatwave threatens to hit London. The home of the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance marketplace has told staff they are able to use their judgement and work from home this week with temperatures in the Square [...]
Next and Frasers go head to head for control of Harvey Nichols

Retail

Retail giants Next and Frasers are set to go head to head for control of ailing department store Harvey Nichols when the Hong Kong-owned firm takes bids from British suitors later on Tuesday. The Knightsbridge-headquartered department store chain was put up for sale last month by its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon, and [...]

Ocado lets Marks & Spencer off hook in £190m payout dispute

July 28, 2026

Ocado has quietly let Marks & Spencer off the hook in a long-running £190m dispute over its home delivery joint venture. FTSE-250 Ocado has dropped its pursuit of the payout from M&S, which it believed it was owed as part of the business they run together, City AM understands. The two companies took a 50-50 [...]
Student housing giant Unite faces £400m loss amid property value slump

July 28, 2026

Unite Students has plunged to a more-than £400m loss after being hit by a £500m revaluation of its properties and “extremely challenging” building costs. The UK’s largest student landlord slumped to a £417m pre-tax loss in the six months to June, reversing a £186m profit the year before, as its earnings slipped by two per [...]
Unilever turns to ‘avocado mayonnaise’ as food weighs on profit ahead of spin-off

July 28, 2026

Unilever has turned to novel products including “avocado mayonnaise” in a bid to boost ailing sales in its food arm, which is poised to be spun off in a £33bn deal. The consumer goods giant upgraded its sales expectations but saw the performance of its food business and European operations drag on the group’s operating [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump as oil drops; Unilever shares soar on decade-best sales

July 28, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the UK’s blue-chip index has made strong gains following a peaky start to the day. The markets took a boost yesterday after oil dropped back after reaching two-month highs of more than $100 per barrel last week when the Iran backed-Houthis took responsibility for tanker [...]
Industry hits out at rumours as No 10 denies plan to abolish stamp duty and council tax

July 27, 2026

Andy Burnham is “not considering” scrapping stamp duty and council tax, Downing Street has said, as the government moves to pour cold water on rumours of major tax changes that had spooked property sector leaders. Business chiefs condemned the government over the danger of property tax speculation after reports over the weekend suggested that Burnham [...]
FTSE 100 firm agrees £5.7bn takeover in latest private equity swoop

July 27, 2026

FTSE 100 energy group DCC has agreed to a £5.75bn takeover by a group of private equity firms in another blow to the London Stock Exchange after a flurry of takeovers this year. US private equity firm KKR and Energy Capital Partners, a subsidiary of London-listed Bridgepoint, said this morning they would pay a total [...]
Burnham vows to ‘get serious’ about slashing welfare bill

July 27, 2026

Andy Burnham has vowed that he will “get serious” about slashing the welfare bill, as the Prime Minister hunts savings to boost defence spending. “We’ve got to get really serious as a country [about] getting the welfare bill down,” Burnham told the BBC in his first full interview since becoming Prime Minister last week. He [...]

FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to slip; US hits back at ‘surprise’ Iran attacks to end pause in conflict

Overseas games: Will World Cup success force Fifa’s hand over divisive issue?

For Albarino in the City, head to Humble Grape

By: Felix Armstrong

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