By: Helen Cahill

I report on retail and property for City A.M. I have covered the investigation into BHS and London's housing crisis. You can email me on helen.cahill@cityam.com with tips or commentary.

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French Connection boss signals two non-executive directors will step down

January 26, 2017

The boss of French Connection has signalled two non-executive directors will be stepping down from the board after an intervention by a group of activist investors. Three investors wrote to French Connection's chief executive and chairman Stephen Marks last Thursday to demand non-executive directors Dean Murray and Claire Kent leave the board after presiding over "a tremendous decline [...]
Tory infighting might be holding back the housing white paper

January 26, 2017

The government's housing white paper has been repeatedly delayed – and infighting within the Tory party might be to blame. Prime Minister Theresa May has reportedly turned the policy document away because it wasn't substantial enough, and it is now thought it will be released on 6 February. Tories in safe seats, who are likely to [...]
Mortgage lending hit a nine-month high in December

January 26, 2017

Mortgage approvals hit a nine-month high in December, and overall in 2016, gross mortgage lending increased 12 per cent. Figures from the British Bankers Association show that gross mortgage borrowing increased by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in December, reaching £12.6bn, with remortgaging approvals jumping 30 per cent to their highest level since October 2008. Read more: Restaurateur [...]
Analysts react to Unilever’s drop in revenues

January 26, 2017

Unilever's shares are set for their worst day of trading in the last five years, having fallen four per cent this morning. Investors are reacting to the food manufacturing giant's fourth-quarter and final year results, which missed expectations. Revenue fell one per cent for 2016, and Unilever also warned that it would be facing "tough market conditions" [...]
Whitbread’s restaurant sales disappoint investors

January 26, 2017

Hotel and coffee shop owner Whitbread – known for its Costa Coffee and Premier Inn brands – has posted some strong sales growth this morning, but its restaurant business has disappointed the market. Whitbread's share price was down four per cent at time of writing. The figures Over the 13 weeks to 1 December, Whitbread's like-for-like [...]
Retailers slash 84,000 jobs amid storm of rising costs and fierce competition

January 26, 2017

Retailer shed an estimated 84,000 jobs in the final quarter of 2016 as the industry heads for what could be a “more profound” shake-out than it experienced after the financial crisis. New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show the number of jobs in the sector fell three per cent year-on-year in the final [...]
This is how much disposable income the UK had in December

January 25, 2017

UK households celebrated a rise in disposable incomes in December last year – but it is thought spending on non-essentials will slow in 2017 as inflation starts to bite. Families had an average £202 of disposable income in December 2016, a rise of 4.4 per cent (or £8.57) on the same month a year before, [...]
Unilever’s sales expected to unveil sagging European sales tomorrow

January 25, 2017

Food manufacturing giant Unilever is forecast to post an increase in global sales and profit when it reports its full-year results tomorrow, but analysts expect the company to reveal sagging growth in Europe. Bernstein analysts expect profit before tax to come in at €7.58bn (£6.46bn), up from €7.22bn last year. They have forecast net sales of €52.98bn, with organic sales growing [...]
Has this UK company been boosted by Donald Trump’s promise to build a wall on the Mexican border?

January 25, 2017

US President Donald Trump has reiterated that he will build a wall on America's border with Mexico – and one British company seems to be benefiting. Ashtead Group is leading the FTSE 100, with its share price up by more than three per cent. The company generates 80 per cent of its revenues in the US and rents out industrial [...]
Tesco hit with new damages claim over accounting scandal

January 25, 2017

Tesco is fighting off a new damages claim from an investor over its 2014 accounting scandal. According to the Financial Times, U.S. fund manager Manning & Napier has claimed it lost $212m (£164m) due to the scandal, in which Tesco overstated its profit by £326m. The scandal led to a crash in Tesco's share price and [...]

FCA hands Palantir sensitive data in AI crime push

Clubs like Chelsea won’t be able to hide from regulator scrutiny

We road test RDR, Star Wars Outlaws and Fallout 4 on Switch 2

By: Helen Cahill

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