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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Gen-Z swaps pints for gym memberships, fitness boss claims

March 11, 2026

Gen-Z fitness fanatics are opting for gym memberships over pints as social media trends drive young Brits to socialise at the pull-up bar rather than the nightclub bar, the boss of The Gym Group has claimed. Will Orr, chief executive at the only London-listed gym provider, told City AM his gyms have seen a surge [...]
Labour’s housebuilding target ‘impossible the day it was announced’ says construction boss

March 11, 2026

Labour’s housebuilding target was impossible the day it was announced, the boss of a leading construction materials firm has warned. Rob Wood, chief executive of materials specialist Breedon Group, told City AM the government’s plans to build 1.5m homes by the next general election will fail because Labour is not backing its construction industries. Wood [...]
Wizz Air pounced on by short sellers as Iran war knocks profits

March 11, 2026

Budget airline Wizz Air has been hit by a flurry of short-selling after it issued a profit warning over disruption caused by the Iran war, making it the UK’s most shorted company. The Hungarian airline, which is listed on the FTSE 250, had 9.59 per cent short interest last month but this has soared to [...]
Gym Group profit doubles as fitness firm flexes its muscles

March 11, 2026

The Gym Group more than doubled its profit as it bulks up its low-cost fitness offering and opens new sites. The low-cost fitness group posted pre-tax profit of £10.6m in the year to December 2025, up 194 per cent from last year, as revenue nudged up eight per cent to £245m. London’s only listed gym [...]
Balfour Beatty shares soar as firm bets on UK energy and defence

March 11, 2026

Balfour Beatty shares jumped after the construction firm posted surging profit as it doubles down on bets on UK energy, transport and defence infrastructure. Profit at the FTSE 250 firm grew 51 per cent to £323m in the year to December 2025, as revenue climbed 7.5 per cent to £10.8bn and its order book reached [...]
‘Easiest time to rent in six years’ as housing supply improves

March 11, 2026

Renters in the UK are enjoying the lowest level of competition for homes in six years, as price growth slows and stock increases. While 6.5 renters competed for every property last year, the average number of enquiries per home is now 4.8 – the lowest rate since 2020, according to Zoopla’s quarterly rental market report. [...]
Waterstones to book chairman as London listing gains pace

March 10, 2026

Bookselling titan Waterstones is on the hunt for a chairman as it picks up the pace on its rumoured London listing. Elliott Management, the activist equity firm which owns Waterstones, has hired headhunters at Russell Reynolds Associates to draw up a list of candidates to join the bookseller’s board. This is the latest signal that [...]
Land development transparency plans ‘solve problem that doesn’t exist’

March 10, 2026

The government has been accused of offering a solution to “a problem that doesn’t exist” over an initiative requiring landowners to publicly declare options over land. The new policy, set to be unveiled by planning minister Matthew Pennycook on Monday, is intended to help small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders by boosting transparency. The government hopes [...]
TG Jones owner Modella Capital weighs latest asset sale

March 10, 2026

The investment firm which owns TG Jones is reportedly considering the latest exit from its string of retail acquisitions. Modella Capital has been discussing a potential sale of Wynsors World of Shoes, a northern shoeseller which the firm acquired just three months ago, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman. The private equity firm has repeatedly [...]
Peak pizza? Domino’s profit dips amid weak sales

March 10, 2026

Domino’s Pizza has suffered a 15 per cent profit slice as it contended with weak sales and a “challenging consumer backdrop”. While total turnover at the FTSE 250-listed pizza chain increased 1.5 per cent to £1.6bn, the like-for-like figure – excluding variables like VAT – inched up only by 0.2 per cent in the year [...]

School of Hard Knocks and Investec celebrate spring rugby tournament

School of Hard Knocks and Investec celebrate spring rugby tournament

Barbican Centre: the brutalist landmark weaving art into everyday London life.

By: Felix Armstrong

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