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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Social media ban driving ‘screen-free’ sales, The Works boss says

July 23, 2026

The boss of discount retailer The Works has said the government’s crackdown on social media usage has driven customers towards the “screen-free activities” offered in his stores. Gavin Peck, chief executive of the Aim-listed retailer, believes Labour’s incoming social media ban has pushed up demand among parents for analogue activities for their children and was [...]
‘Ever-widening gap’: Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin urges Burnham to cut more pub taxes

July 23, 2026

JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has called on the Prime Minister to go further to reduce the soaring tax burden faced by pubs. The chairman of the UK’s best-known pub chain said Burnham’s decision to slash business rates for pubs is an “implicit recognition that the hospitality sector is over taxed”. The Prime Minister announced [...]
Easyjet takes £200m profit hit in Iran war travel chaos

July 23, 2026

Easyjet has revealed a £200m profit hit as the budget airline battles with the soaring energy costs and falling travel demand caused by the Iran war. The FTSE 250 carrier posted an £85m profit in the three months to June, down 70 per cent on £286m in the previous year, as passenger volume slipped by [...]
Burnham to cut pub business rates by 20 per cent

July 23, 2026

Andy Burnham has unveiled a 20 per cent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues. The £100m commitment will be funded by cracking down on businesses, like vape shops and tax-avoidant online sellers, which “do not make a positive contribution to local communities,” the government said. The measure comes as part of [...]
As it happened: Stocks slip as oil hits $100 following Houthi attacks on tankers

July 23, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. Stocks slipped on Thursday morning as oil surged back to $100 per barrel for the first time since May. Brent crude barrelled up after the Iran-backed Houthis claimed to have attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. The US last night launched its [...]
FTSE 100 Segro ‘minded to accept’ £14bn Prologis takeover

July 22, 2026

Segro has said it is “minded to accept” the £14bn takeover offer tabled by US real estate giant Prologis. The FTSE 100 property firm said on Wednesday evening that the terms of Prologis’s fourth bid are at a level it would be willing to recommend to its shareholders. Segro’s update came just five minutes before [...]
Prologis tables ‘best and final’ £14bn offer for Segro

July 22, 2026

US real estate firm Prologis has tabled a “best and final” £14bn offer for Segro, the FTSE 100 property company it has been pursuing for weeks. The Californian property company said its latest offer, which values Segro at £10.32 per share, is a “compelling opportunity for both sets of shareholders”. This bid marks the latest [...]
London house prices fall again as property slowdown drags on

July 22, 2026

London house prices fell again in May as uncertainty over Andy Burnham’s premiership dampened market confidence. The average house price in the capital slipped by 3.7 per cent to £545,000 in the year to May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Prices jumped in the rest of the country, though the headline rate [...]
Wetherspoon shares dive as pub chain warns on profit again

July 22, 2026

JD Wetherspoon shares slumped after it issued its fourth profit warning this year, as the pub chain grapples with surging food and energy costs and a rising business rates bill. Tim Martin, founder and chairman of the UK’s best-known pub chain, said: “Profits for the year are likely to be below market expectations, with marginally [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise but oil tops $95; inflation eases

July 22, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Wednesday and new Chancellor John Healey secured an early boost after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that inflation slowed in June. Headline CPI inflation dipped from 2.8 per cent in May to 2.6 per cent in June. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the [...]

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By: Felix Armstrong

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