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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Investors vote against the re-election of chairman Keith Hellawell to the board of Sports Direct

September 7, 2016

Sports Direct's investors have said today they want to see the company's chairman kicked off the board. The vote comes after the business said they would be keeping Keith Hellawell as chairman, despite saying they would listen more to investors. He offered his resignation, but the board would not accept it. On the vote, non-executive [...]
Mike Ashley just lost it at Unite in front of his investors at the Sports Direct

September 7, 2016

Sports Direct's founder Mike Ashley could not contain his irritation with Unite today at his company's annual meeting, ranting at the union's representatives in front of his investors. Steve Turner, Unite's assistant general secretary, stood up at the AGM to criticise the changes Ashley has made to improve conditions for workers on zero-hours contracts, saying that the [...]
Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley wants to follow Theresa May’s lead and put staff on the board

September 7, 2016

Mike Ashley today told shareholders at Sports Direct's annual general meeting (AGM) that one staff member from the company will be joining the board. The founder of Sports Direct said he is "absolutely in agreement with Theresa May" that there should be more staff representation at board level. The move would be a "no-brainer future [...]
Rent growth continued to slow in August

September 7, 2016

Rents kept on an upwards climb in August, but the pace of rent growth is slowing. In August, prices grew by 3.1 per cent year-on-year, according to HomeLet's rental index. Tenants signing new agreements paid an average £913 a month. Read more: Here's where private rents are increasing fastest (and it's not London) But this [...]
M&S workers seek unionisation after pay changes and job cuts

September 6, 2016

The shopworker's union Usdaw has said it is willing to go through the courts to become recognised as the official union of Marks and Spencer's employees. M&S recently announced it would be cutting premium pay for workers on Sundays and bank holidays, and reducing pension contributions. Usdaw told City A.M. it is happy to "go down the statute route" for official recognition [...]
Too little too late, Mike Ashley – shareholder groups shun Sports Direct’s report

September 6, 2016

Sports Direct attempted to fix its tattered public image today by publishing a report on its review of working practices – but shareholder advisory groups are unmoved by Mike Ashley's last-ditch efforts to avoid an investor revolt at his company's annual general meeting. City A.M. understands that influential advisory group Glass Lewis has not changed its position [...]
Consumer spending hit a 13-month high in August as Brits overspent on holiday

September 6, 2016

Consumer spending hit a 13-month high in August, boosted by the nation's holiday overspend on the back of the decline in the value of sterling. Overall, spending increased by 4.2 per cent year-on-year in July, according to Barclaycard, which collects data on consumer spending in everything from retail to food and leisure. Holiday spending boosted [...]
Housebuilders’ share prices rise as the big-hitters brave the Brexit storm

September 6, 2016

Housebuilders were some of the top risers this morning after big-hitter Berkeley Group said it would meet its £2bn profit target and Redrow posted record results. At time of writing, Berkeley Group was leading the FTSE 100 risers, as its share price was up 3.72 per cent. Redrow's share price was up 7.26 per cent. Taylor Wimpey and Barratt [...]
Redrow’s share price jumps as it announces record results

September 6, 2016

Redrow's share price jumped five per cent in morning trading after the housebuilder announced a record set of results. The figures Redrow's revenue was up 20 per cent to £1.38bn, which the company said was down to a 17 per cent increase in completions and a seven per cent increase in the average selling price of units. For the year ending 30 June, the housebuilder made [...]
Berkeley Group’s home reservations hit by stamp duty and the Brexit vote

September 6, 2016

Berkeley Group, the housebuilder recently relegated from the FTSE 100, has said in a statement today that reservations for its properties have fallen by 20 per cent as compared to last year. Stamp duty tax changes and the EU referendum had made trading more difficult, it said in its trading statement today, which covers the period from [...]

Starmer vows to end system ‘failing our kids’ ahead of expected social media ban

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By: Helen Cahill

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