LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Britain's marginally expanding economy in late 2025, while better than expected, is undercut by a subdued underlying momentum, leading analysts to urge more thorough support for businesses.
The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1 percent compared with the three months to August, estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Thursday.
The growth in the three months to November followed a revised flat reading in the three months to October and a 0.1 percent increase in the three months to September, according to the ONS.
Specifically, services output increased by 0.2 percent during the September-November period, production output fell by 0.1 percent, while construction output slumped by 1.1 percent in contrast with a decline of 0.3 percent in the three months to October.
The three-month growth of the manufacturing industry continued to be affected by a cyber incident that disrupted car production earlier in the autumn, said Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS.
McKeown also said the construction sector recorded its largest three-month decline in nearly three years.
Stuart Morrison, research manager at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said the better-than-expected GDP data suggest that the impact of pre-Budget uncertainty among businesses may have been less severe than anticipated.
But he argued that the Chancellor's Budget statement, while avoiding significant new taxes for firms, lacked game-changing measures to properly kick-start the economy.
"Firms are telling us they are still cautious about investing and recruiting," meaning growth will stay limited for the foreseeable future, he said, citing the BCC's latest economic forecast, which points to a challenging year ahead for businesses, with GDP expected to expand by just 1.2 percent.
Thursday's data also showed Britain's monthly GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.3 percent in November, following a fall of 0.1 percent in October and a revised growth of 0.1 percent in September.
Commenting on the data, Julian Jessop, economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the 0.3-percent growth was better than expected, but the monthly GDP data are volatile. The economy still contracted in five of the eight months to November, leaving trend growth barely above zero, he stressed.
Pessimistic about the economic outlook, he said persistent weakness in consumer and business confidence and in the more timely survey data - notably in the retail and construction sectors - confirms that underlying growth remains weak.
"The government appears to have given up on growth in favor of policies designed to redistribute income and wealth, and to expand the role of the state," he argued, this would weaken the drive in spending, investment, and job creation in the private sector.
Ben Jones, lead economist at the Confederation of British Industry, said Thursday's data pointed to less of a slowdown than the previously feared. But he also noted business investment is likely to remain fairly subdued amid soft demand conditions, high labor and energy costs and supply-side bottlenecks.
"Lowering the cost of doing business must now be the government's priority to unlock investment and growth," he said.
Upgrading the UK's ageing infrastructure and unlocking the government's public investment commitments will also be critical to supporting growth and lifting productivity, according to Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors.
"2026 must be a year of delivery on growth, with government and business working in partnership. That means action from policymakers on igniting investment, powering productivity and transforming trade," Morrison noted.
