LONDON -- Britain's economy expanded in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, with real gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 0.6 percent compared with the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, according to estimates released Thursday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The growth in the three months to March followed revised growth of 0.2 percent in Q4 2025, the ONS said.
Output in the services sector increased by 0.8 percent during the quarter, while the construction and production sectors grew by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
"Growth picked up in the first quarter of the year, led by broad-based increases across the services sector. Within that, wholesale, computer programming and advertising performed particularly well," said Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics.
Production also grew slightly, while construction returned to growth, although it only partly reversed weakness seen at the end of last year, she added.
