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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House price growth holds steady in February

March 2, 2026

House prices held steady in the year to February and rose slightly from last month, according to Nationwide’s house price index. The average UK house price last month was £273,176, up 0.3 per cent from January, and annual price growth was unchanged at one per cent. A continued improvement in affordability helped drive first-time buyers [...]
Hornby offloads toy car brand Scalextric for £20m

February 27, 2026

Hornby, the model railway firm advised by Mike Ashley, has agreed to sell toy car racing brand Scalextric for £20m. Castelnau, Hornby’s parent company, announced on Friday it will sell the toy brand to Purbeck Capital Partners. Hornby, which also sells toy planes and cars under the Airfix and Corgi brands, has owned Scalextric since [...]
Labour accused of ignoring rental housing

February 27, 2026

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned she must “take sharp notice” of the collapse of John Lewis’ housing venture by investing immediately in the build-to-rent sector. The Association for Rental Living (ARL), the body which represents the build-to-rent sector, has sent an open letter to senior Labour figures calling on the government to develop a [...]
Rightmove boss talks down ChatGPT threat and defends AI investment

February 27, 2026

Property giant Rightmove sought to walk a tightrope when it launched its financial results on Friday, as its execs stood by the firm’s divisive AI plans while distancing themselves from silicon valley giant OpenAI. Friday’s results offered an opportunity to calm the shareholders who wiped £1bn off the firm’s value when it announced its AI [...]
Rightmove profit grows as it doubles down on unpopular AI plans

February 27, 2026

Rightmove has reported growing profit and revenue as it stood by AI plans which had proved divisive with investors. The UK’s top property portal reported profit before tax of £290m, up 12 per cent from last year, in its financial results for the year ended December 2025. The FTSE-100 listed firm recently launched a conversational [...]
Sainsbury’s could slash 300 jobs in head office shakeup

February 26, 2026

Retail giant Sainsbury’s could axe up to 300 jobs as it overhauls its tech and head office teams across its supermarket and Argos operations. The grocery is restructuring its technology and data unit into one dedicated team for Argos and two for Sainsbury’s. The firm, which employs around 140,000 people, announced it would cut 3,000 [...]
Ocado boss: We were naive to accept orders but US firms should have worked harder

February 26, 2026

After its share price tumbled on Thursday morning, the boss of Ocado was given the chance to evade the blame for shuttered warehouses and job cuts. The retail tech group’s financial results set out easing losses and slowly climbing revenue. But it was the plans to cut 1,000 jobs – mostly at the company’s Hertfordshire [...]
London mayor gives green light for pedestrianised Oxford Street

February 26, 2026

Sadiq Khan has signed off proposals to pedestrianise Oxford Street, ordering London’s transport authority to begin plans to remove traffic in a major shake-up the nation’s most popular shopping area. The London Mayor gave his approval to the plans on Thursday, claiming the “bold” proposal will transform the high street into a “world-leading” shopping and [...]
Brits push down house prices to dodge mansion tax

February 26, 2026

House sellers are already pushing sale values below £2m in a bid to avoid the coming “mansion tax” on expensive homes. The high-value council tax surcharge (HVCTS) is not due to be implemented until April 2028 but estate agents Hamptons have found Brits are already taking steps to avoid the levy. The “mansion tax” charge [...]
Ocado shares tumble as boss warns of job cuts

February 26, 2026

The boss of online retailer Ocado has warned of “significant” job cuts after US retail giant Kroger pulled out of its automated warehouse partnerships, prompting shares to tumble. The group confirmed it has closed several warehouses in North America and warned that further job losses are to come as Ocado continues to “simplify” its model. [...]

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By: Felix Armstrong

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