Robust UK growth spurred by businesses

Britain’s robust first-quarter economic growth was supported by the fastest expansion in business investment in two years, offering a sign that the country’s recovery is becoming more sustainable.

The UK’s headline economic growth rate of 0.8% in the first quarter was not changed in revised official figures published yesterday, but the numbers did show a faster growth in business investment than expected.

Business investment rose by 5% on the quarter, up from a previous estimate of 2.7% and its fastest rate of growth since the first quarter of 2012. It contributed 0.4 percentage points of the 0.8 percentage points of growth in the first three months of 2014.