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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‘Misleading’ Frasers ad banned amid feud with watchdog

September 2, 2026

The advertising watchdog has censured Frasers Group for running a “misleading” ad just days after its finance chief ramped up a bitter row with the regulator. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an online advert published by Sports Direct, which is owned by Frasers, for a Puma sports top which it said misled shoppers [...]
Tesco and M&S warn Burnham against Budget tax raid on retailers

September 1, 2026

Top supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer have urged Andy Burnham to rule out a Budget tax raid on retailers, warning they are already facing “unsustainable” costs. The Retail Jobs Alliance (RJA), which represents retailers employing more than 1m people, has urged the Prime Minister not to prioritise pubs and bars over high [...]
SNP slammed for ‘mind-boggling’ food price cap plans

September 1, 2026

The Scottish government has been criticised for its “mind-boggling” plans to impose price caps on major retailers operating in the country, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi. The Scottish National Party (SNP) has published a draft bill for the policy, which has been dismissed as an “unnecessary exercise” by leading retailers. SNP leader John Swinney’s initial [...]
Bingo giant takes hit from rising employment costs

September 1, 2026

The country’s biggest bingo hall operator has hit out at the “significant” hikes to employment costs which dragged down its earnings despite surging Gen-Z interest in the pastime. Buzz Bingo, formerly Gala, blamed recent increases in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage for its six per cent dip in underlying earnings, to [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers weighs move to oust Hugo Boss chief

September 1, 2026

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is weighing up a move to oust a boardroom chair at Hugo Boss as it laid out fresh plans to grow its stake in the German fashion house. The retail group, which was founded by the British billionaire, told investors on Tuesday that it wants to control more than half of [...]
House prices remain sluggish in ‘subdued’ property market

September 1, 2026

House prices continued their sluggish run in August, gaining just 0.2 per cent on the previous month, as uncertainty caused by the Iran war and the upcoming Budget in October weigh on the market. The average UK house price grew by 1.6 per cent to £275,465 in the year to August, marking a slight improvement [...]
Shein shapes up for cut-price IPO as dominance slows

August 31, 2026

Shein will list in Hong Kong this week in a cut-price initial public offering following two previous failed attempts in London and New York. The Chinese retailer will begin trading in Hong Kong on Tuesday in a debut set to value the firm at around $27bn (£19.8bn), about a quarter of its highest private-market valuation. [...]
Asda in ‘foothills of recovery’ as grocer returns to growth

August 28, 2026

Asda has posted sales growth for the first time in more than two years, marking a “major milestone” in the turnaround led by Allan Leighton on his comeback at the grocer. The discount supermarket saw like-for-like sales excluding fuel grow by 0.2 per cent in the seven weeks to mid-August. Like-for-like food sales jumped by [...]
October Budget could be a ‘tipping point,’ Asda boss warns Burnham

August 28, 2026

Andy Burnham’s first Budget in October could be a “tipping point” for British businesses and the economy, the chair of supermarket giant Asda has warned. Allan Leighton, who is attempting to push through a turnaround of the grocer, said it is “too early to tell” whether the government is committed to halting the rise of [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 jumps as oil falls back; Warsh says ‘work to do’ on inflation

August 28, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index extended gains on Friday after some pressures in the oil market eased off. Oil prices reared back up on Thursday night, reversing days of losses earlier in the week. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – jumped [...]

OpenAI safety chief quits with warning on ‘broken’ culture

Gary Neville ups ante in media battle with Gary Lineker with launch of Overlap Daily

Jousting, goblins and furries: Dispatch from a UK renaissance faire

By: Felix Armstrong

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