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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Greggs profit flakes as baker faces lukewarm start to year

March 3, 2026

Profit at Greggs is flaking away as the chain bakery faces a lukewarm 2026, with sales slowing already this year. The chain’s underlying profit before tax fell nine per cent to £171.9m in the financial year to December 2025, though total sales were up seven per cent, the bakery’s preliminary results show. The baker is [...]
Owner of former WH Smith shops calls for help as stores at risk

March 2, 2026

The investment firm which owns a string of former WH Smith stores has called in emergency advisors as it prepares for a drastic restructuring which could leave 80 stores at risk. Modella Capital, which bought stationers WH Smith’s retail division in June 2025, has brought on advisers at consultancy firm Teneo to direct its restructuring, [...]
Mortgage approvals fall to two-year low

March 2, 2026

Mortgage approvals slumped to a two-year low in January as buyers remain cautious following months of damaging uncertainty around the November Budget. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases dropped to 60,000 in January, six per cent below the 64,100 six-month average, according to new Bank of England figures. The property market is still suffering from [...]
Competition watchdog probes top hotel chains over data sharing

March 2, 2026

The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a probe into top hotel chains including Hilton, Marriott and FTSE 100 giant IHG over their suspected use of a data analytics tool to share information with each other. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the investigation on Monday morning, which centres around the hotel chains’ use of [...]
Brewdog bought by US cannabis giant in £33m deal

March 2, 2026

Craft beer giant Brewdog has been sold to American cannabis and brewing group Tilray Brands for £33m after co-founder James Watt reportedly walked away from a comeback deal. Tilray Brands, a pharma firm which sells cannabis and alcoholic lifestyle products, has agreed a deal to acquire most of the brand’s assets. The announcement of a [...]
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 [...]

Amir Khan’s union the GFA hires £500-an-hour silk to probe fighters’ rights

Amir Khan’s union the GFA hires £500-an-hour silk to probe fighters’ rights

Monkey Shoulder is winning over a new generation of whisky drinkers

By: Felix Armstrong

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