This statistic displays the estimated average cost of houses across the component regions of England and the other countries of the United Kingdom (UK) for 2015 and 2020, in the main scenario. The source expects the cost of houses in the UK to continue to rise in the economic climate following the Brexit referendum. London is still expected to be the most expensive area in the UK by 2020, with the average price of a house expected to cost more than half a million pounds.

This statistic presents the forecasted percentage change a no-deal Brexit would have on major economic indicators. In this scenario the United Kingdom's GDP is estimated to fall by eight percent, with house prices also predicted to decline by as much as 30 percent.

While a deal between Britain and the European Union was reached in November 2018, the deal must survive a parliamentary vote in order for it to be implemented. In the event that the vote doesn't go through parliament a no-deal Brexit would be the default scenario.

The financial and operational success of property development markets depends on a range of socio-economic factors, such as property values, market sentiment and credit conditions. Building project developers' revenue is forecast to slide at a compound annual rate of 3.2% to £35.8 billion over the five years through 2024-25. The economic shock caused by the pandemic had a devastating impact on property development market in 2020-21. Severe supply chain and market disruption caused sentiment to wane and transaction activity fell, while property values initially depreciated and rental fee income stalled. Revenue rebounded in 2021-22, aided by low interest rates, house price inflation and a stronger than anticipated initial economic recovery from the pandemic. Nonetheless, revenue remained below pre-pandemic levels as growth was hindered by a further net deficit on revaluation of assets and lower rental income in office and brick-and-mortar retail markets. The fallout from the pandemic has caused developers to re-align investment towards lower-risk real estate markets which are likely to be more resilient to price shocks. Inaflationary pressures and rising interest rates spurred a further hit to portfolio valuations, discouraging developers from pursuing new developments. Revenue is forecast to grow by 2.5% in the current year, as interest rate cuts spur renewed growth in property values. Revenue is slated to climb at a compound annual rate of 1.3% to reach £38.2 billion over the five years through 2029-30. Following recent interest rate cuts, more stable economic conditions are set to continue to support improved sentiment in the near-term, spurring developers to pursue new ventures. Opportunities for growth are set to be most prominent in high-yield office markets and the technology sector, with growing use of artificial intelligence set to drive demand for the development and construction of data centres. Loosened planning policy is set to drive momentum in residential real estate markets, though more will need to be done for the government to achieve ambitious housebuilding targets.

The UK inflation rate was three percent in January 2025, up from 2.5 percent in the previous month, and the fastest rate of inflation since March 2024. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation, which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. Due to this long period of high inflation, UK consumer prices have increased by over 20 percent in the last three years. As of the most recent month, prices were rising fastest in the communications sector, at 6.1 percent, but were falling in both the furniture and transport sectors, at -0.3 percent and -0.6 percent respectively.
The Cost of Living Crisis High inflation is one of the main factors behind the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis in the UK, which, despite subsiding somewhat in 2024, is still impacting households going into 2025. In December 2024, for example, 56 percent of UK households reported their cost of living was increasing compared with the previous month, up from 45 percent in July, but far lower than at the height of the crisis in 2022. After global energy prices spiraled that year, the UK's energy price cap increased substantially. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge consumers, reached 3,549 British pounds per year in October 2022, compared with 1,277 pounds a year earlier. Along with soaring food costs, high-energy bills have hit UK households hard, especially lower income ones that spend more of their earnings on housing costs. As a result of these factors, UK households experienced their biggest fall in living standards in decades in 2022/23. Global inflation crisis causes rapid surge in prices The UK's high inflation, and cost of living crisis in 2022 had its origins in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial waves of the virus, global supply chains struggled to meet the renewed demand for goods and services. Food and energy prices, which were already high, increased further in 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought an end to the era of cheap gas flowing to European markets from Russia. The war also disrupted global food markets, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of cereal crops. As a result of these factors, inflation surged across Europe and in other parts of the world, but typically declined in 2023, and approached more usual levels by 2024.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the value of exports from the United Kingdom amounted to approximately 206.3 billion British pounds, while imports to the country amounted to around 217.8 billion pounds, resulting in a trade deficit of around 11.5 billion pounds in this quarter. During this time period, the value of UK exports was highest in the fourth quarter of 2022, with the value of imports peaking in the third quarter of 2022. The UK's main trade partners Despite the UK leaving the EU in 2020 following the Brexit referendum of 2016, Europe remains the main destination for UK exports, with almost half of UK exports heading there in 2023. During the same year, just over 60 percent of imports came from European countries, compared with around 17.9 percent from countries in Asia, and 11.8 percent from the Americas. In terms of individual countries, the United States was the UK's leading export partner for both goods and services from the UK, while Germany was the main source of UK goods imports, and the U.S. for service imports. It is as yet unclear how the return of Donald Trump to the White House will impact UK/US trade relations, should the President follow through with threats made on the campaign trail to increase trade tariffs. Brexit rethink under Starmer? Although generally more pro-European than the previous government, the new Labour government, led by Keir Starmer, does not plan to rejoin the European Union, or the Single Market. Public opinion, while gradually turning against Brexit recently, has not coalesced around a particular trading relationship. In late 2023, a survey indicated that while 31 percent of British adults wanted to rejoin the EU, a further 30 percent wanted to simply improve relations with the EU, instead of rejoining. Just 11 percent of respondents wanted to join the single market but not the EU, while 10 percent were happy with the relationship as it was. At the start of 2025, after several months in office, the new government has not signalled any major change in direction regarding on this, but has broadly signalled it wants a better relationship with the EU.

Berlin was the European city with the most office stock volume in 2022, followed by Paris, and Munich. Office floor space in the German capital amounted to approximately 19.7 million square meters. Paris and Munich, on the other hand, had roughly 18.7 and 14.5 million square meters, respectively. London's office market is also not to be underestimated, with London City and West End alone totaling 12.3 million square meters.

Which is the most expensive office real estate market in Europe? With over 1,300 euros per square meter per year, Central London yielded the highest rent among European cities. Both Brexit and the coronavirus affected demand for office space in London, causing rents to stall in many of London's districts.

Where are the lowest vacancy rates in Europe? One of the main signs that the office market is performing well is that vacancy rates remain low. Low vacancy rates encourage developers to build more offices, leading to the growth of the sector. The vacancy rates of prime offices - the best-in-class offices on the most desired locations - were the lowest Berlin, Luxembourg, and Hamburg in 2022.

In 2023, demand for UK-built cars grew by 16.8 percent year-on-year to some 905,100 units. The United Kingdom exports nearly eight out of 10 cars assembled in UK plants. Vulnerability to trade disruptions Sales and exports of UK-manufactured vehicles began to fall in 2016. Slumping investments amid Brexit fears, as well as higher costs of production, are likely to have contributed to a slowdown in demand. Since the UK’s referendum on membership of the European Union, the British pound has fallen in value. This may have been expected to be good news for exporters, who garner more interest with relatively cheaper products. However, the weak pound is unfavorable for vehicle manufacturers due to their international supply chains. The European Union is the UK auto industry's leading trade partner, accounting for most of its car imports. EU markets also account for around six in 10 UK car exports. Inflation impacts new and used car sales The price inflation recorded in the United Kingdom impacted all product types, passenger cars included. New car purchases were the most affected by the soaring prices: Their consumer price index was at its highest in the past fifteen years in 2023. In contrast, the consumer price index for used car purchases decreased in 2023, down from its record-breaking 2022 value.

In 2024, the gross value added (GVA) of the real estate sector in the United Kingdom was approximately 295 billion British pounds, the highest of any sector in that year.

The Swedish clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz, or H&M as it is widely known, achieved net sales worth around 17.5 billion Swedish Krona in the United Kingdom in 2023. The H&M Group operates globally in a number of markets and currently the UK market ranks among the top three, based on the company’s net sales figures. H&M in the UK: a strong market As of 2023, there were 4,369 H&M store locations up and running across the world. Of these, the number of H&M shops in the UK placed the country among the top markets with the strongest H&M presence. The UK is only beaten by the US and Germany, the former of which is the fashion company’s largest market. H&M and other brands Hennes und Mauritz is the main business of the H&M Group, but there are more brands under the same umbrella. After H&M’s clothing and home lines, COS is the group’s most visible brand in terms of number of markets. Other brands of the H&M Group include &Other Stories, Cheap Monday, Monki, Weekday, Arket and Afound.