British businesses grew at the slowest pace since April 2021 during the past three months, after demand for face-to-face services slumped due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Confederation of British Industry said on Sunday.
Britain's economy only recovered to its pre-pandemic size in November, before being hit by the highly infectious Omicron variant which led to government advice to work from home and restrictions on hospitality in Scotland and Wales.
That was the lowest reading since April's, which covered a three-month period when pubs, restaurants and non-essential retailers were largely closed due to a previous COVID wave. But there are headwinds for many businesses from sharply rising inflation, which hit its highest in nearly 30 years in December and is forecast to exceed 6% in April when regulated household energy bills rise.
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