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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Stamp duty reform is ‘urgent,’ Berkeley tells Burnham

September 11, 2026

Berkeley has urged Andy Burnham to commit to “urgent reform” to stamp duty, which it says has become a “binding constraint” on housebuilders and buyers. The FTSE 250 firm said that stamp duty is to blame for the slump in demand for new homes, because it makes first-time-buying unaffordable and dissuades existing homeowners from moving [...]
Trainline hits out at tube strikes and fare freeze as growth stalls

September 11, 2026

Trainline has hit out at tube strikes and the government’s freeze on rail fares, as the train ticketing platform saw sales growth grind to a halt. The FTSE 250 firm posted flat ticket sales in the six months to August, at £2.1bn, blaming “the impact of the regulated fare freeze, additional disruptions from hot weather [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 rallies as economy beats forecasts; oil falls back

September 11, 2026

Welcome back to City AM’s FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index rallied on Friday after the economy beat forecasts in July, surprising those in the City who had expected to see growth peter out. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the UK economy’s (GDP) grew by 0.4 per cent in July, [...]
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin attacks government’s ‘unfriendly’ attitude to business

September 11, 2026

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has said he is “very concerned” by the wealth exodus gripping the UK as he hit out at Labour’s “unfriendly” attitude towards entrepreneurs. The pub tycoon said it is “madness” to blame the number of ultra-rich businesspeople leaving the country on anything other than the business conditions created by the government. [...]
City policymakers push to end ‘old-school’ ban on tower logos

September 10, 2026

Square Mile policymakers are ramping up pressure on the City to drop “old-school” rules which block firms from displaying logos on their buildings, in a move which they say could drive growth. The City of London Corporation, which governs the historic financial district, has long blocked companies from displaying their logos on the top of [...]
The aristocratic landowner taking record rent from ‘cradle-to-grave’ health empire

September 10, 2026

One of London’s biggest landowning families raked in record rent from its Marylebone property empire last year, helped by a surge in demand at its ‘cradle-to-grave’ private healthcare district. Howard de Walden Estates, which owns the Harley Street health district and the residential Marylebone Village, grew its rental income from the estate by 9.3 per [...]
Primark sales slip as owner dresses up retailer for demerger

September 10, 2026

Primark has seen its sales slip due to heatwaves and “weak” consumer spending, despite efforts by its owner to revamp the discount clothes seller as it prepares to be spun off. Associated British Foods (ABF), the FTSE 100 consumer goods giant which owns Primark, said it is working “at pace” to improve the retailer ahead [...]
John Lewis posts £120m loss as Labour tax raid pushes up costs

September 10, 2026

The owner of John Lewis fell to a loss of more than £120m in the first half of its trading year as the retail giant hit out at Labour tax raids for “the increased costs of doing business”. The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, posted a pre-tax loss of £124m, 41 per cent [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 dives as oil marches to $106; Trump threatens long war

September 10, 2026

Welcome back to City AM’s FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index shed as much as 0.4 per cent on Thursday morning, as Associated British Foods’ 11 per cent dip cancelled out modest gains from London’s oil majors and consumer giants like JD Sports and Whitbread. Despite recent expectations that the Iran war is far [...]
Giving Neets jobs in hospitality would generate £2.3bn, Hilton claims

September 9, 2026

Hilton has urged the government to encourage unemployed young people into hospitality, claiming that filling all the industry’s vacancies would add £2.3bn to the economy. The hotel group, in collaboration with trade body UK Hospitality (UKH), has urged Andy Burnham to lower taxes on hospitality firms to give them the breathing space to take a [...]

Anthropic’s growth slows ahead of IPO as AI spending bill nears $900bn

Commonwealth Games generated £223m for Scotland

London Watch Week – The City Edition mega preview, featuring Christopher Ward, Nomos and more

By: Felix Armstrong

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