Sector business investment up 42% in Q3 2021

Quarterly business investment reaches £1 billion for first time since final quarter of 2019

BUSINESS investment in the mining and quarrying sector grew by 41.6% on an annual basis in the third quarter of 2021, according to the latest ONS data analysed by business tax relief specialists Catax.

Business investment by mining and quarrying companies grew from £712 million in the third quarter of 2020 to just over £1 billion in the third quarter of 2021. It is the first time business investment has reached a billion in a quarter since the final quarter of 2019.

It also represents a quarterly 13.1% improvement on the second quarter of 2021, although the sector still lags a long way off its all-time high of £3.9 billion in the third quarter of 2014.

Nevertheless, the industry’s annual performance is far better than UK industry as a whole, which posted a 2.6% annual increase in business investment across all sectors in the third quarter, though it fell an estimated 2.5% on a quarterly basis, according to ONS figures.

UK GDP increased by 1.1% in the third quarter, leaving it just 1.5% below where it was pre-pandemic (Q4 2019).

The ONS business investment statistics are an indication of net capital expenditure by UK businesses, which includes spending on items such as plant and machinery, transport equipment, software, and buildings.

Mark Tighe, chief executive officer of business tax relief consultancy Catax, commented: ‘This big annual improvement in business investment suggests the start of a possible bounce back from the slump of 2020.

‘This, combined with the monthly growth well above UK industry as a whole, is a signal that the sector is recovering and suggests that stronger levels of investment may be just around the corner.’