Morrisons pledges to slash prices as price war intensifies Retail Morrisons has pledged to match prices with its rivals on hundreds of products, as the debt-ridden grocer ramps up an emerging price war between UK supermarkets. The private-equity-owned supermarket has vowed that 500 of its “everyday essentials” will not be found cheaper at any of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi or Lidl. Britain’s supermarkets are fighting [...]
Poundland loss doubles as discount retailer nears sale Retail Poundland nearly doubled its loss amid a drastic downturn which pushed the discount retailer to post a “challenging set of numbers” last year. The retailer slumped to an £85.2m pre-tax loss in the year to September, nearly doubling the previous year’s £45.4m, its latest filings have revealed. This loss came in the run-up to Poundland’s [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks rise; US to unveil ‘economic D-Day’ Iran sanctions FTSE 100 Live Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 edged up on Monday morning after brushing off a shaky start to the day’s trading. Airtel Africa, Halma and IG led the index’s risers while Fresnillo, Autotrader and Astrazeneca each slipped more than one per cent. The attention of investors is trained across the Atlantic, [...]
Can debt-ridden Morrisons become a Big Four supermarket again? August 22, 2026 “Nothing but difficult” is how one retail analyst describes the road ahead for Morrisons boss Rami Batiéh. Since taking charge of the grocer in November 2023, the chief executive has faced an uphill battle, as the group – once a firm member of the UK’s ‘big four’ – is outpaced by its rivals. Batiéh, whose [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers offers to pay personal shoppers in Harvey Nichols takeover August 20, 2026 Frasers Group has offered to secure the pay of personal shoppers and stylists at Harvey Nichols after Mike Ashley’s retail empire bought the luxury department store. The Sports Direct and Flannels owner will make “goodwill payments” to a number of personal shoppers and stylists who were left owing money when Harvey Nichols collapsed. Frasers snapped [...]
Budget supermarket Iceland’s sneaky jab at Big Four management consultants August 20, 2026 Supermarket chain Iceland has shared a subtle dig at management consultants on its website. There is a tongue and cheek reference to a £16m spend on external consultancy firms which include Big Four giant PwC, during a turbulent era for the business in the early 2000s. The retailer, known for selling frozen food, published a [...]
JD Sports shares crater after ‘King of Trainers’ warns on profit August 20, 2026 JD Sports has slashed its profit target as the growth plan led by chief executive Régis Schultz loses steam, sending its share price into a tailspin. The sports and fashion retailer saw sales performance improve in the UK, but a slowdown in the US and intense discounting by rivals is dragging on the firm’s profit, [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 rallies after JD Sports drags on blue chips; oil jumps again August 20, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 has slipped to a week low on Thursday, as JD Sports dragged on the index after warning on profit. The blue-chip index fell to 10,693 around midday, marking a 0.46 per cent drop on Wednesday’s close and a 0.7 per cent fall in the week [...]
Cut student loan repayments to get youths out of chicken shops August 19, 2026 Crippling student loan repayments have stolen billions from the economy sending struggling graduates to cheap food options and public transport, a consultancy firm has argued. Analysts at Baringa found that cutting the student loan repayment rate from nine per cent to five per cent would free up to £6bn in consumer spending each year for [...]
Supermarkets ‘actively shielding’ shoppers as food inflation falls again August 19, 2026 Food inflation fell again in July to its lowest level in nearly five years, as retailers claim they are “actively shielding” consumers from worse price rises. The rate of food price inflation slipped to 1.3 per cent last month, down from 1.7 per cent in June, to reach the lowest point since September 2021. Industry [...]