UK Industry Fast Facts

IBISWorld presents a collection of fast facts for the different sectors of the UK economy.

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

• Shrinking profit margins in agriculture has encouraged farmers to look for alternative ways to generate income. A farmer in Keynsham, Bristol, has turned his dairy and poultry farm into a storage business and now leases his former dairy land to a cafe and farm shop to add to his income.
• According to Strutt and Parker’s analysis of government data, the redirecting of 2% of traditional agricultural land in Britain to Sustainable Farming Initiative’s will lead to a 3% decrease in crop production.
• A report commissioned by the RSPB, National Trust and The Wildlife Trusts discovered that the current investment in agriculture falls short of the amount needed to tackle the climate crisis. An annual investment of £5.9 billion would support the long-term viability of UK farming.
• The Welsh government postponed its rollout of a new subsidy scheme for farmers that would require farmers to dedicate 10% of their eligible land to tree cover and another 10% to natural habitat until 2026.
• The National Farmers’ Union has claimed that farmers can prevent river pollution is they receive the necessary funding in the next farming budget. According to Rivers Trust, only 14% of UK rivers are in good ecological health.
• Farmers will be given more freedom to diversify their businesses after new planning laws will slash red tape. Farmers will be able to convert buildings and land into business opportunities without the need for planning application.
• The government has launched a £1.6 million fund to help farmers manage water resources more efficiently and protect against the impact of drought. Projects could include multi-farm reservoirs, treated waste-water recycling systems, water trading and sharing schemes.
• Farmers can now be rewarded with up to £11,600 per hectare for planting woodland, a 45% increase from the previous money offered. Defra has also announced rises to flood risk management, maintenance and nature recovery payments.
• Around £220 million will be allocated to new food-productivity schemes, farm technology and automation to reduce reliance on overseas workers, during 2024-25.

Mining

• The Office for National Statistics (ONS) states that output in the mining and quarrying sector fell by 4% in June 2024. This was mainly due to a 5.3% fall in extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas. Mining and quarrying has fallen 0.8% in the three months to June 2024 compared with the prior quarter.
• Oil and gas companies have criticised the government’s plans to raise windfall tax from 75% to 78%, extend the tax until 2030 and remove investment incentives. They argue these plans threaten £200 billion worth of investment in the energy sector, including renewables, as reported by the BBC.
• UK Oil and Gas has raised £1 million for hydrogen storage projects. It has recently agreed a lease for a second hydrogen facility located in Dorset.
• Six mining and minerals organisations representing thousands of businesses and workers have called on the UK Secretary of State for Education to include minerals and mining in Skills England’s initiative to address the skills gap.
• In August 2024, the Labour government decided not to fight a legal challenge by environmental groups to block the Rosebank development, putting the project in doubt.
• Oceana UK, a marine conservation organisation, is taking legal action against the UK’s decision to issue over 31 new oil and gas exploration licenses under the previous government.

Manufacturing

• According to S&P Global/CIPS PMI, the UK’s manufacturing PMI reached a 26-month high in August 2024 at 52.5, up from 52.1 in June 2024. The PMI has signalled expansion in five of the last six months (except April). The upturn is driven by the domestic market, which is compensating for lost export orders, which have fallen consistently since 2022.
• According to the ONS, the second quarter production output fell by 0.1% compared with the first quarter, driven primarily by a 0.6% decline in manufacturing output. In June 2024, manufacturing output increased by 1.1%, with growth in nine of its 13 subsectors.
• The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders recorded a 14.4% fall in car manufacturing in July 2024 compared to the same month in 2023. Factories are lowering output as they prepare for the shift to electric models.
• According to CBI, manufacturing output expectations will reach the strongest level in the third quarter, with firms seeking to increase stock levels to meet expected demand.
• According to Make UK, manufacturers have greater confidence in the UK as a base of operations than they were a year ago. Almost half of respondents to their survey expect conditions to improve in 2024. The optimism has been fueled by relative political stability and pro-business policies like the full expensing tax break on investments, according to the Financial Times.
• Between 2025 and 2030, the government will provide £4.5 billion in funding for British manufacturing to boost investment across eight sectors, with over £2 billion earmarked for the automotive industry and just under £1 billion for aerospace.
• The International Federation of Robotics found that the UK lags behind the world average for the number of robots per employee, with financial, ease of use, functionality and regulatory concerns all cited as reasons for the slow adoption.
• The UK government has postponed the UKCA safety mark for manufactured goods indefinitely, a move welcomed by businesses, as it will reduce red tape and simplify the post-Brexit business landscape.

Utilities

• The government awarded nine offshore wind farm contracts in September 2024. This is a stark change from last year's auction, where no companies bid. The new offshore wind firms will include Europe’s largest and second-largest wind farms, both located off the Yorkshire coast.
• Cornwall Insight forecast that domestic energy prices will rise in the run up to winter, with an expected increase of 9% in October 2024.
• Thames Water, in over £18 billion of debt, has breached its licence conditions after two credit rating agencies cut its rating to junk. Ofwat will appoint an independent monitor to report on Thames Water and force it to construct a new business plan and raise new equity.
• Octopus Energy will repay £3 billion to the Treasury by September 2024, meaning the government will recover almost all the cost of the temporary nationalisation of Bulb in 2021.
• The Financial Times reported that Thames Water pumped 14.2 billion litres of sewage into the river Thames in central London in 2023.
• Thames Water may increase bills by £627 yearly to fund investment of up to £3 billion to fix its leaky network. The company is already charging £26 a year per household to fund a new 25km sewage tunnel under the Thames.
• Water companies in England and Wales will have to monitor all emergency overflows from 2025, with the Environment Agency requiring monitors on an additional 7,000 overflow pipes.
• The water consumer watchdog has warned that companies’ plans to increase bills by up to 70% by 2030 are unaffordable for most households in England and Wales. It would take some payments to more than £800 a year.
• Major energy supplier Octopus Energy has raised £630 million from its shareholders, which will create 3,000 green jobs, just weeks after becoming Britain’s biggest power supplier. The company has acquired Bulb Energy and Shell Energy since 2022.
• According to the National Grid, about 600 projects with a combined capacity of 176GW are in the queue in England and Wales, against 64GW of connected capacity. Some battery, wind and solar projects are being told they have to wait until 2036 for a connection.

Construction

• According to the ONS, construction output grew by 0.5% in June 2024. The main driver of output growth was new work, which increased by 0.9%. Seven of the nine sectors saw growth in June.
• The S&P Global/CIPS UK PMI registered 55.3 in July 2024, up from 52.7 in June, marking a significant monthly expansion in the construction sector. Housing projects showed a return to growth as civil engineering saw the fastest expansion in almost two and a half years.
• According to the Financial Times, the number of construction workers has fallen by 14% between 2019 and 2024, driven by Brexit and high inflation.
• The government awarded 2,021 construction contracts in Q1 2024, worth £6.6 billion, which is a 14% increase in value compared to Q4 2023. The highest value contract was given to Network Rail Infrastructure.
• Developers in England must deliver a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain when building new housing, industrial or commercial developments. The UK is the first country in the world to make this a legal requirement.
• Two-thirds of the £4.2 billion UK housebuilding fund is unspent despite a shortage of housing in the country, more than six years since its launch, according to the Financial Times. Work had only begun on less than one in 10 of the promised homes.
• An additional 16,000 extra workers will be needed in the UK’s offshore wind industry by 2030, according to a new labour forecasting tool developed by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and Whole Life Consultants. A decline in oil and gas production (the largest employer of engineering construction contractors) could lead to a 30% reduction in the workforce between 2023 and 2035.

Wholesale Trade

• According to the ONS, output in the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector fell by 1% in June 2024. This was the largest negative contribution to services growth during the month. Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles, contracted 1.1% in June 2024.
• The UK’s largest pharmacy wholesaler, AAH Pharmaceuticals, is in the middle of an acquisition race by private equity groups after it was put up for sale. The wholesaler supplies about 14,000 UK pharmacies and generates £3 billion of revenue annually, according to the Financial Times.
• Flower and plant wholesalers have faced issues and severe delays due to the recent government introduction of physical checks on some food and plants from the EU. Most flowers and plants are imported from the Netherlands.
• DBC Group has become a member of the Sugro UK group, which consists of over 90 independent wholesalers.
• Covent Garden Tenants’ Association has stated that growing demand for high-quality fresh produce, as consumer eating habits shift, will provide a good platform for growth for domestic wholesale markets.

Retail Trade

• The British Retail Consortium data shows Shop Price deflation was at 0.3% in August 2024, down from inflation of 0.2% in the previous month, the lowest rate since October 2021. Non-Food remained deflated at -1.5% in August, while Food inflation slowed to 2% in August, down from 2.3% in July 2024. Overall, the drop in prices was driven by non-food sector, with retailers discounting heavily to shift their summer stock, particularly for fashion and household goods. This discounting followed a difficult summer of trading caused by poor weather and tight finance — take a look at Primark, which anticipates a 2% drop in sales as the weather hits seasonal updates.
• Online fast fashion retailer, ASOS, has offloaded Topshop to Bestseller as it looks to refinance operations. The deal will grant the online retailer certain design and distribution rights for the Topshop and Topman brands in return for a royalty fee enabling it to continue selling the brands.
• Fast fashion retailer Shein is considering selling shares directly to the public after controversy surrounding its anticipated £50 billion listing on the London Stock Exchange. Environmental concerns aside, the retailer faces concerns over its use of a tax loophole for overseas shipments, giving the company an unfair advantage.
• To combat excess waste, more than half of clothing retailers charge for postal returns, with fees ranging from £1.99 to £3.99 — including the much-loved high street shop Zara (£2.95). Meanwhile, online fast fashion brand Oh Polly plans to clamp down on repeat returners calculating the cost of returns based on a customers’ return rates, with some being charged as much as £8.99 to send back the entire order.
• Waitrose unveils its new concept store design in North London, expanding its fresh produce department and a chilled wines section. This is part of the company’s £1 billion investment over the next three years in new stores refurbishments, which also includes the opening of 100 new concession or little Waitrose stores.
• Political unrest in Bangladesh threatens high-street clothing stores with delayed shipments, affecting key names like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara. H&M, which sources its clothing from about 10,000 factories in Bangladesh, said it was “concerned about the developments (in Bangladesh)”. Brands are increasing nearshoring efforts to minimise disruptions.
• Social media shopping — particularly TikTok — is taking off with retailers like Asos, Zara and THG, allowing users to buy items directly via social media apps. Some retailers are tracking the amount of time users spend on platforms as they prepare to launch live shopping over the coming months.

Transportation & Warehousing

• According to the Department for Transport, the number of journeys across all modes of transport increased by 6% in 2023 compared with 2022. However, the average distance travelled remained 8% below the level in 2019.
• Sunak’s decision to downgrade HS2 has led to over £2 billion in costs, including a £1.1 billion write off during phase two (Birmingham to Manchester link) until it was scrapped in 2023. HS2 also disclosed a £1 billion accounting fee related to the downgraded line.
• Budget airline easyJet enjoyed an 8% in passenger numbers over the three months through June 2024, driving revenue growth of 11%. The average fare over the quarter was £73, roughly the same as 2023.
• Compensation payouts to rail passengers for delays hit over £100 million over the year through April 2023, up by 155% since 2021-22. According to data from the Office of Rail and Road, the financial hit is likely to be much higher in 2023-24.
• The Guardian has reported that approximately 46,000 aircraft has logged problems with GPS over the Baltic Sea since August 2023, with Russian GPS jamming the likely cause.
• Low-traffic neighbourhoods can create public health benefits as much as 100 times greater than the cost of the schemes. The research was conducted in three outer London boroughs.
• The number of miles covered by bus services in London was cut by 22 million between 2017 and 2023, as revealed by Department for Transport data. Fleet size has been reduced by 14% over the period.
• Network Rail has allocated £1 billion to invest on adapting its network to climate change between 2024 and 2029, double the amount spent in the last five years.
• Transport for London has warned that it’s facing a £250 million shortfall in funding after securing just half of the £500 million grant it had requested to keep the network running in 2024-25. The funding will be used for new trains on the Tube’s Piccadilly Line, which are being constructed in East Yorkshire.

Accommodation & Food Services

• The ONS states that output in the food and beverage service activities grew by 0.04 percentage points in June 2024. Food and beverage service activities grew by 1.1% in the three months to June 2024 compared to the prior quarter, making it the largest positive contributor to consumer-facing services output growth. Meanwhile, output in the accommodation subsector declined by 4% in June 2024.
• Leading global fast-food chain McDonald’s has announced plans to open over 200 new restaurants in the UK and Ireland over the next four years. This is part of its £1 billion expansion plan to raise its presence on the high street. McDonald’s has about 1,435 UK outlets, as reported by the Financial Times.
• The Hospitality Market Monitor by CGA, NIQ and AlixPartners has found that 99,207 hospitality venues were registered in Britain in June 2024, a 0.5% hike from March 2024. This growth has been driven by bars offering exciting activities like axe-throwing, darts, mini-golf and ping-pong.
• According to VisitBritain, UK inbound visits reached 38 million in 2023, up 21% from 2022 but still 7% below 2019. Meanwhile, visitor spending reached £31.1 billion in 2023, up 9% from 2022. VisitBritain forecasts 38.7 million inbound visits in 2024.
• UK budget hotel chain Travelodge reports that profit contracted by 9% in the first half of the year, with room rate falling by 2% (vs growth of 16% in the prior year). This is despite the occupancy rate growing by 2.2 percentage points to 84.8%. The chain states that this is due to weak demand for midweek leisure travel in London.
• According to Morgan Stanley, midscale and economy hotels in the capital have suffered this year as revenue per available room in April 2024 fell 8.3% year-on-year, compared with a 4.1% decline for UK midscale and economy hotels as a whole.
• New research by policy research agency Public First states that takeaway restaurants, alongside hairdressers, are replacing banks and clothes shops on UK high streets. It has found that there are an average of 11.2 takeaways per 10,000 people in Manchester, compared with 7.2 per 10,000 in London, highlighting these establishments’ strong rise in the North.
• The UK hospitality sector has criticised government plans to ban smoking in outdoor areas like pub gardens as well as restaurant terraces and children’s playgrounds. UKHospitality states that such a ban would cause significant economic harm to hospitality establishments, with many venues investing in outdoor spaces following COVID-19.

Information

• According to the ONS, output in the information and communication sector remained flat in June 2024. However, the sector grew by 1.7% in the three months to June 2024, making it one of the largest contributors to growth in services output.
• Leading UK business groups, including the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors, have called on UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to set up an automatic compensation scheme for businesses affected by broadband outages. They argue that the UK connectivity infrastructure supports business operations and drives economic growth.
• According to Ofcom, less than half of young audiences (16 to 24-year-olds) in the UK watch broadcast television weekly, the first time ever that the majority have turned away from traditional channels. This decline, from 76% in 2018 to 48% last year, highlights the increasing popularity of video-sharing platforms like YouTube, which is increasingly being watched on traditional TV sets.
• Sky has picked CityFibre as its second broadband partner over BT. Sky’s existing agreement with BT will remain, with the telecoms group hosting all of Sky’s broadband customers, as per the Financial Times. However, new Sky customers in areas where Openreach doesn’t operate will use CityFibre. CityFibre’s full fibre network has expanded greatly recently and passes about 3.8 million premises, with the aim of reaching 8 million premises in the near future.
• The new Labour government has shelved £1.3 billion of funding for UK tech and AI projects pledged by the Conservatives. Following a significant backlash, the government has stated it will continue to fund AI and supercomputing.
• UK spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, has questioned UK’s investment in the European Space Agency as the strategy fails to deliver value for money.

Finance & Insurance

• The FCA is set to investigate pure protection sales focusing on potential issues with commission structures and the value provided to policyholders.
• The FCA has published a paper on simplifying rules in commercial insurance to reduce the time needed to take on new customers and renew contracts; making the sector much more competitive.
• Labour has called for an investigation into skyrocketing car insurance premiums. The industry hits back, saying they are passing on the sharp rise in the cost of claims thanks to an increase in costs of car parts and the second-hand market.
• Mortgage lenders trim costs following base rate cuts to 5%. Meanwhile, house prices are on the rise with the annual rate of price growth from 1.5% in May to 2.1% for July, taking the average home to a value of £266,334 and showing modest recovery in the market, according to Nationwide.
• Data from the Bank of England shows consumer borrowing has increased at the fastest rate for more than a decade with consumer credit card borrowing rising 12.8% over the year to July 2024. Meanwhile, households are saving the smallest share of their income since 2008.

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

• According to major bank Nationwide, annual house price growth increased by 2.4% in August 2024 compared with August 2023. This is the fastest rate since December 2022. This is despite prices falling 0.2% month on month, with the average house price at £265,375. Prices remain around 3% below the all-time high reached in the summer of 2022.
• The BoE interest rate cut from 5.25% to 5% in August 2024, the first rate cut since 2020, could spur house market activity going forward.
• Rightmove states there has been little effect from the election on the property market, with house prices remaining near record highs. Agreed sales were up 6% year on year in June 2024.
• The number of properties listed on the market is growing. According to property portal Zoopla, the stock of homes for sale in the UK was 14% higher over August 2024 than in the same month in 2023.
• According to the ONS, average UK private rents hiked by 8.6% in the 12 months to July 2024. The capital recorded the highest rate of rent inflation over the month.
• Following the challenging market conditions brought on by the high interest rates, the UK commercial real estate market is recovering faster than its European counterparts, with deal volumes and property values in the UK rising in the first half of 2024, as reported by the Financial Times. According to MSCI, UK transaction volumes swelled 7%, with about €26 billion worth of properties changing hands.
• Blackstone has sold 3,000 homes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK’s largest private pension fund, for £405 million. This is the second-largest residential sale in the UK in 2024 and marks “the biggest affordable housing deal of its kind”, according to the Financial Times.
• High interest rates and concerns surrounding hybrid working have subdued large office building sales in London. Only a few such properties have sold for over £100 million in the first half of 2024 and none of these have been in the City of London. The rise in interest rates has caused a revaluation across commercial real estate, particularly offices where demand is uncertain. Investors who purchased central London offices since 2014 would likely incur a loss if they sold today, with 64% of them potentially selling for less than their purchase price, according to an MSCI index and reported by the Financial Times.

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

• The ONS reports that the professional, scientific and technical activities sector expanded by 1% in June 2024, marking its fifth consecutive monthly growth, mainly due to a 4.5% rise in legal activities. Professional, scientific and technical activities was the largest positive contributor to the rise in services output in the three months to June 2024, growing by 2.5%.
• The FRC has released the latest Audit Quality Review report for 2024. Of the audits inspected, 74% were categorised as good or requiring limited improvements. Audit quality for the FTSE 350 has also improved, up from 81% to 87% year on year. However, there is a widened gap between the largest four firms and the other Tier 1 firms, BDO and Forvis Mazars. The audit results for BDO have declined significantly from 69% to 38% year on year, while Forvis Mazars’ results also declined from 56% to 44%.
• Commercial property developer Revelan is suing PwC over “negligent” tax advice which resulted in a £3 million bill to HMRC. It is seeking £6.6 million for loss and damages.
• A report by the Management Consultancies Association states that employee numbers in the UK consulting sector have dropped by 3% in 2023 amid waning demand. This is the first decline since 2020.
• The National Audit Office states the UK government could save £500 million of taxpayer money by increasing procurement oversight, as reported by the Financial Times.
• KPMG has been awarded a £223 million government contract to train civil servants, a deal agreed upon just before plans to cut reliance on external consultants were set out in July 2024. The contract is the second-largest public sector contract awarded to a Big Four firm.
• Analysis by the Financial Times has found that Home Office spending on consultants reached nearly £230 million in the year ending June 2024, compared with just £23.4 million five years earlier.
• UK unions warn that employees in accounting firms will face severe job cuts due to automation and the adoption of artificial intelligence.

Education

• Data from the Institute of Public Policy Research shows that pupils in England's schools lost a record of 32 million days of learning due to a combination of unauthorised absences and exclusions. From the data, pupils entitled to free school meals are nearly five times more likely to be permanently excluded and four times more likely to be suspended than their peers.
• Universities at risk of insolvency, with nearly 70 higher education establishments undergoing redundancy and restructuring programmes. The number is expected to climb as international student numbers drop and the cost of student debt edges upwards. In August 2024, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson made it clear that the government will not bail out universities despite warnings.
• Figures from UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) show by the end of June 41.9% of all 18-year-olds in the UK had applied through their system — compared to 42.1% last year and 44.1% in 2022. London bucks this trend with application rates up one percentage point to 59%. Overall, a greater number of disadvantaged students turn away degrees thanks to growing concerns over the cost of living, the attainment gap in schools since the pandemic and teenagers seeking alternative routes over higher education.
• From January 2025, 20% VAT will be levied on private schools, meaning parents could see fees increase by 20%. The Government has warned that the tax will apply to all payments for the January 2025 term made from July 2025 as parents try to skirt the additional charge by paying fees in advance.
• Private school leaders warn the state sector is headed for disaster unless Labour’s VAT scheme is delayed. State schools risk being “overwhelmed by a mid-year surge in demand for school places that has not been forecast”, in a letter to the Treasury. Estimates from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) indicate up to 40,000 pupils will be forced out of private schools into the state system following the VAT hike.
• Lower ranked UK universities face trouble filling spaces as overseas applications drop. UCAS data shows a 1.4% drop in domestic students accepting places in lower tier universities compared with last year. The sector as a whole expects to increase domestic recruits by 11 per cent over the next three years, leading to fiercer competition among lower-ranked universities.

Healthcare & Social Assistance

• In 2022-23, net expenditure on adult social care in England was £24.6 billion in real terms, having risen by around 9% since 2019-20. Although spending has increased, it hasn’t kept pace with an ageing population, where the number of people aged 65 and over has jumped from 9.2 million to over 11 million and cost pressures.
• Digitisation is needed across social care with research by health-tech company Lilli, suggesting the NHS could save more than £1.2 billion through non-intrusive lifestyle monitoring.
• In June 2024, out of 7.6 million cases on the waiting list for consultant-led care, 1.2 million were for people waiting for admission to hospital for elective surgical treatment. Most elective services conducted in hospitals are used to treat emergency patients. To tackle the growing backlog, health workers argue for elective surgical hubs.
• With mounting waiting lists it’s no surprise the UK is lagging behind other wealthy countries due to extended waiting times. The Health Foundation reported that the UK is among the “poorest performing countries” when it comes to hospital care. An estimated 7.62 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of June 2024, relating to 6.39 million patients — up slightly from 7.60 million treatments and 6.37 million patients at the end of May.
• The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) found the number of Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) has gone up by three and a half times in the last two years — rising to 50 between 2022 and 2024, compared to just 15 in 2019 and 2021. Shortages of medicines are for a range of conditions including epilepsy, angina, menopause, thyroid problems and depression. According to Community Pharmacy England, medicines supply issues are being caused by a combination of factors, with Brexit, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the impact of COVID-19 and broader economic instability all playing a part.
• Health Minister Stephen Kinnock has scrapped the social care workforce fund for training and development due to funding pressures but stresses the Government intends to provide funding for social care learning and development with the budget maintained at the level spent in 2023-24.
• Labour will tackle the immediate crisis with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry for the long term, Labour will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focusing on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. A supervised tooth-brushing scheme for 3- to 5-year-olds will also be introduced, targeting the areas of highest need.

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

• Discovery+ becomes the UK’s fastest-growing paid streaming service after its parent — Warner Bros Discovery — secured a near £1 billion deal for control of the Olympics rights from the BBC. For Paris 2024, the BBC broadcast just 250 hours of live TV and showed a maximum of two live events simultaneously.
• Labour has historically advocated for stricter regulations, particularly tightening controls on advertisements and campaigning for greater protection for problem gamblers. Labour’s manifesto outlines several commitments to gambling reform, including regulation and reducing gambling-related harm.
• Lindsy Nandy, Culture Secretary, has pledged to boost funding for grassroots sports, including football facilities for girls and boys alongside ongoing cash upgrades to local sports centres. Meanwhile, pub chain Greene King hit its £1 million milestone for grassroots sports with Euros fundraising.
• Despite tighter controls, gambling is on the up thanks to the growth of online slots and real event betting. According to the UK Gambling Commission, the gross gambling yield (GGY) for the first quarter of 2024 alone reached an impressive £1.46 billion, a steep 2% rise compared to the previous year. While online gambling is flourishing, the traditional retail betting sector is facing challenges as punters prefer the convenience of betting from home.

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