The preliminary "flash" reading of the UK Composite Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 60.0 in April from 56.4 in March, its highest reading since November 2013. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a smaller rise to 58.2.
Retailers also reported a rise in purchases of mobility equipment as older people left their homes after their vaccinations and there was a jump in sales at garden centres, reflecting the boom in gardening over the past year. "We now seem to be seeing the first evidence of the release of the pent-up demand that was built up over the many months of lockdown as restraints begin to be lifted," said Rhys Herbert, senior economist at Lloyds Bank.The evidence of momentum in Britain came after data unexpectedly showed the euro zone economy also picked up pace April, despite slower progress in vaccinating the bloc's population.