UK economy grows 4.8% as hospitality industry recovers from lockdown

GDP was, on the other hand, 2.2% lower than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020, and some analysts said they expected the pace of recapture would have slowed in July as infection rates rose.

Economists at Pantheon Macrostudies had expected GDP to increase 0.6% in June and 4.7% throughout the quarter.

The operations in the food and beverage services sector rose by 10.1% and was the biggest contributor to the growth of the services provided to consumers, which was stimulated by the reopening of indoor catering in May.

ONS said UK GDP is still about two per cent below its pre-pandemic peak.

"The UK economy has continued to rebound strongly, with hospitality benefiting from the first full month of indoor dining, while spending on advertising was boosted by the reopening of many services," says Jonathan Athow, ONS deputy national statistician.

The Chancellor said: 'Today's figures show that our economy is on the mend showing strong signs of recovery, thanks to our Plan for Jobs and successful vaccine programme.