Regardless of your political persuasion it’s safe to say that the last 12 to 18 months have been an unmitigated disaster for the British economy.
The economic policies of Liz Truss saw mortgage interest rates soar by up to 7%, global events pushed food prices up by 14.9% and utilities like Kerosene heating oil up by 82%.
It’s no wonder then that 3 in 10 Britons last year were forced to dip into their savings or seek financial assistance to allow them to meet their most basic living costs.
With so many people struggling to get by it’s no surprise to see restaurants, pubs and cafes closing their doors as they struggle with rising costs and declining footfall.
All in all the current state of the British economy paints a rather bleak picture but, here in London, there are glimmers of hope shining through the clouds.
Online Gambling
It is perhaps somewhat disheartening but also strikingly obvious that in a time of real economic hardship the gambling industry is going from strength to strength. There is a trend throughout history that when people feel they can no longer rely upon their jobs for economic stability they turn to gambling.
The spinning reels and upturned cards of a casino offer the promise of huge riches that could help not only to pay the bills but to forget about money troubles altogether. Whilst that might be depressing to some the good news, widely speaking, is that a thriving gambling industry benefits the economy.
London in particular has benefited in recent years as companies such as Virgin Games have looked to professionals based in the capital to help with the development of some of their smash-hit games like Cleopatra Slots.
Ecommerce
Shopping is hard in London. It’s not as simple as it is in other parts of the UK where you can hop in the car, head to your local supermarket and drive back home with a boot full of food in an hour. The capital’s roads are too busy for that, there’s nowhere to park and, with the recent ULEZ expansion it is quite frankly too expensive to own a car in London.
It’s no wonder then that ecommerce is thriving in the UK capital. The people of London love online shopping and they love the convenience of having things delivered to their front door or to their office desk which is great news for companies like Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
Storage
The housing situation in London is no joke. We’ve all seen the adverts online where shameless landlords are trying to rent out a squalid and tiny room for thousands of pounds a month. Unfortunately though many Londoners are being forced to live in tiny houses or in cramped rooms in house shares.
Aside from greedy landlords, the other winners from this are storage companies who are finding their services in higher demand than ever before. With people regularly having to scale down to meet rising living costs, they need somewhere to store the furniture and other items they can’t fit into their smaller living areas.
Companies like Big Yellow Group and London Self Storage have all seen their profits jump up massively in the past 12 months as a result.
Construction
In terms of the UK’s housing crisis it’s less that the horse has bolted and more that the horse is outside waiting to be shot. Margaret Thatcher could surely have seen the long-term impact that her housing policies would have on future generations and the multiple Prime Ministers that followed should definitely have done something about it, but here we are.
Fortunately though something is being done about it and there is a real emphasis on construction in the UK at the moment, particularly in London. It isn’t just housing that is being built in London either, there has been a serious increase in infrastructure projects too like the Adelaide street underpass.
Food & Drink
Not everyone has been forced to downscale and take out loans to cover the rise in the cost of living, for some rising costs have just meant a change in lifestyle. Instead of eating out regularly families on higher incomes are increasingly looking to enjoy their favourite restaurant style foods and bar standard drinks at home.
This has boosted the economic outlook of boutique style food and drink companies offering the luxury and quality of restaurants and bars for a fraction of the price and to be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home.
If you love nothing more than a nice glass of Pinot Noir in your favourite bar but can’t justify spending £6 for the privilege then it makes sense to instead spend £15 on a high quality red burgundy from Majestic Wine and enjoy six glasses with your partner on the sofa instead.