Market Update: We break down the business implications, market impact, and expert insights related to Market Update: Business investment in the UK – Full Analysis.
7. Data sources and quality
Quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Business investment quality and methodology information (QMI).
Revisions
In line with our National Accounts Revisions Policy, the data are open to revision for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025 for current price (CP) data, and chained volume measure (CVM) estimates.
Data in this bulletin
All data in this bulletin are presented in chained volume measure (CVM), unless otherwise specified. This means the effect of price changes is removed from the data (in other words, the data are deflated).
In Quarter 1 2025, the Quarterly Acquisitions and Disposals of Capital Assets Survey (QCAS), the largest data source for gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and business investment, had a response rate of 77.7% for estimates used in the revised release.
Adjustments
Large capital expenditure tends to be reported later in the data collection period than smaller capital expenditure. This means that larger expenditures are often included in the revised (month three) results but are not reported in time for the provisional (month two) results. This can result in upward revisions in the later estimates for business investment and GFCF. Following investigation of the impact of this effect, from Quarter 3 (Jul to Sept) 2013, a bias adjustment was introduced in the provisional estimate.
This adjustment was suspended in Quarter 3 2020 because of uncertainties surrounding the effect of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the bias adjustment was reintroduced to business investment and GFCF, after further investigation and analysis of its impact since Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2021. As usual, we have removed the bias adjustment for the revised release.
Producer prices publications
Business prices data with corrected chain-linking methods have been used in this release for producer price indices (PPI), import prices indices (IPI) and export price indices (EPI). In line with the National Accounts revisions policy, updated data have only been used from January 2025 onwards.
Corrected service producer price indices (SPPI) have not been included. Further analysis will be made on the corrected SPPI dataset, and we provisionally intend to include this in our GDP monthly estimate, UK: June 2025 bulletin and our GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: April to June 2025 bulletin on 14 August. The full implementation of updated business prices data will be managed in line with the National Accounts revisions policy with the full time series update being included in our GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: April to June 2025 release on 30 September 2025 and Blue Book 2025 publication.
Further information on the chain-linking error in the producer prices dataset are detailed in our producer prices publications update.
Accredited official statistics
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled “accredited official statistics”.