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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Mike Ashley’s Frasers feels lift from takeover spree

July 16, 2026

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has seen its profit jump as it pushes ahead with a turnaround plan and launches a spree of takeover bids for foreign retailers. The fashion group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, said its recent takeover bids and moves to build stakes in rivals are bolstering its balance sheet amid a [...]
Retailers urge Burnham to slash tax and back youth employment

July 16, 2026

Retailers have called on Andy Burnham to slash their taxes and help them to employ young people in a raft of demands for the Prime Minister-to-be. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a trade body representing the UK’s biggest retailers, has urged Burnham to “buy into retail” as part of his pledge to back local communities [...]
James Watt offers to buy back Brewdog

July 15, 2026

Brewdog founder James Watt has launched a bid to regain control of the craft beer firm he founded, just months after it was bought by a US rival. The Scottish entrepreneur said on Wednesday that he has submitted a formal offer to buy Brewdog from Tilray Brands, the US cannabis and craft beer firm which [...]
UK’s biggest pub firm probed over treatment of tenants

July 15, 2026

The UK’s biggest pub landlord is being probed by the industry watchdog over concerns that it is mistreating its tenants. Stonegate, whose 4,500 UK sites include the Cannick Taps on Cannon Street and the Cheshire Cheese on Tower Hill, is facing an investigation from the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA). The watchdog said it had “reasonable [...]
Barratt Redrow urges Burnham to slash tax to boost housebuilders

July 15, 2026

Barratt Redrow has called on Prime Minister-to-be Andy Burnham to cut taxes to encourage housebuilding and remove “barriers to home ownership”. The FTSE 100 housebuilder urged the government to address “the increasing regulatory and tax burdens that are constraining viability” to “unlock higher levels of housing delivery, including affordable housing”. Burnham has pledged to back [...]
Tom Kerridge: No good restaurant has ever been run by accountants

July 14, 2026

No good restaurant or pub has ever been run by accountants, celebrity chef Tom Kerridge told City AM as he pushes for a VAT cut for hospitality firms. The TV personality and restaurateur has spearheaded lobbying efforts for the government to slash VAT for hospitality companies, a move which he says would offer the struggling [...]
Wetherspoons and Young’s toast World Cup success as shares rocket

July 14, 2026

Wetherspoon and other top London-listed pub groups have surged in value over the course of the World Cup as millions of revellers toasted the hot weather and the Three Lions’ success. Tim Martin’s budget pub chain, which is listed on the FTSE 250, has gained more than £75m in value since the start of the [...]
Burnham risks ‘breaking manifesto’ without business rates reform

July 14, 2026

Andy Burnham has been warned that he risks breaking Labour’s manifesto if he does not go further in his plans to overhaul the business rates system. The Prime Minister-to-be has been urged by hospitality and retail industry figures to expand his plans to modify a business rates system which they say unfairly disadvantages high street [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers muscles in on Harvey Nichols sale

July 14, 2026

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has gatecrashed the sales process for Harvey Nichols, defying the initial objections of the luxury department store’s brand partners. The fashion group, founded by billionaire Ashley, has successfully entered into the auction for the high-end retail group after demanding it be allowed to take part, City AM understands. Harvey Nichols had [...]
Debenhams owner could sell brands to slash debt

July 14, 2026

Debenhams Group could sell off some of its brands in a bid to eliminate its £90m debt, as the fashion firm continues its turnaround. The group, which owns the eponymous former department store as well as Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing, plans to slash its debt to below the level of its pre-tax earnings and [...]

Lord O’Neill declines job in Burnham government

Illegal Premier League betting could hit £1bn within year

Meet the Destrier, Bugatti’s most extreme one-off yet

By: Felix Armstrong

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