Halfords eyes garage growth after wheels fall off cycling boom June 18, 2026 Retail and autocentre giant Halfords will deliver its full-year results next week, hoping to deliver sustained growth after a Covid-era bike boom. Felix Armstrong profiles the FTSE stalwart Head to the very back of a Halfords store, snaking your way round the air fresheners, tents, brake fluid and torches, and you will find the bike [...]
House of Lords lashes out at Labour for ‘eliminating’ its oversight of financial watchdogs June 18, 2026 An influential group of peers have hit out at the government for ditching the Lords’ oversight of financial watchdogs as part of legislation passed in the King’s Speech. Writing in her capacity as chair of the Lords’ Financial Services Regulation Committee, Baroness Noakes said the government had “eliminated” an “integral” part of the regulatory system. [...]
City trader: ‘My coke dealer came to the Canary Wharf office every day at 9am’ June 18, 2026 A former star City trader has opened up about a devastating cocaine addiction that devoured hundreds of thousands of pounds – and nearly killed him. Kent Bray talks to City PM Editor Christian May about his high-flying career at Citibank and his rock-bottom drug addiction. In a remarkably candid interview Bray, who mentored YouTube activist [...]
An apology to Keir Starmer June 18, 2026 Footage released of the Russian-organised arsonists who attacked Keir Starmer’s North London home show they pulled off the reprehensible act by drenching a copy of a recent City PM with lighter fluid, before setting it ablaze. At City PM we like to say our paper has an impact that touches the highest levels of government. [...]
Hopes rise for decision on Heathrow’s third runway plan June 18, 2026 Hopes for full government backing this summer for Heathrow’s expansion plans were rising on Thursday, with London’s main airport operating on the brink of full capacity. A report in The Times said Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government is moving to clear the plans before any challenge to his leadership from Andy Burnham, with voting underway in [...]
Whitbread food sales slump after revealing exit from restaurant arm June 18, 2026 Whitbread has seen food and drink sales slump after it revealed its divisive decision to sell its restaurants and pivot to a hotels-only business. The Premier Inn owner said food and drink sales fell by five per cent to £148m in the three months to the end of May, compared to a three per cent [...]
You can buy AI software, but not years of AI development experience June 18, 2026 Over the past two years, AI has moved from a specialist technology to a boardroom priority at remarkable speed. Today, almost every company can access powerful AI tools, whether through large language models, workflow automation or AI assistants integrated across different parts of the business. What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that access to [...]
Tesco fuel sales drag up slowing growth June 18, 2026 Tesco has revealed a nearly 20 per cent boost in fuel sales as the Iran war sends petrol prices soaring, dragging up otherwise slowing revenue. The FTSE 100 supermarket saw fuel sales jump by 19.5 per cent to £1.7bn in the three months to May, while total sales growth slowed to one per cent to [...]
HSBC coughs up $25m over Australian scam failures June 18, 2026 HSBC has agreed to cough up just shy of $25m after admitting to failures in protecting customers in Australia from scammers. The Australian arm of Europe’s biggest lender was investigated by the watchdog over alleged “widespread and systematic failures” to shield its customers targeted by fraudsters. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it [...]
Job vacancies fall again in unemployment risk June 18, 2026 Job vacancies available across the UK dropped again, official data revealed, posing a further risk for Britons out of work. The Office for National Statistics said the number of job vacancies fell by 19,000 between March and May. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 per cent per cent compared to five per cent in data [...]
