UK GDP growth revised up to three per cent in 2014 as business investment hits highest since 1997
Bring on those Wimbledon strawberries, we're in for a bout of patriotism: UK GDP growth was three per cent during 2014, rather than the 2.8 per cent previously thought, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today.
And GDP grew 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, up from a previous estimate of 0.3 per cent. That suggests the UK continues to recover strongly.
Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation – which includes business investment – rocketed by £1.5bn to £76.1bn in the first quarter, up two per cent from the previous three months. That's its highest level since the beginning of 1997, when the ONS began using that measure.
Year-on-year, that measure has risen five per cent, while business investment itself jumped 5.7 per cent compared with the first quarter.
David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said today's GDP revision brings official statistics "far more into line with what businesses across Britain report".