SPENDING No such thing as a cheap date as typically costs £129

Couples in the UK typically spend £129 on going on a date, which is more than twice as much as their counterparts in countries such as France and Italy, research has found. The figure includes costs such as transport, clothes, cosmetics, entertainment and food and drink.

Dating now contributes £5.89billion a year to the UK economy, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research ( Cebr). Entertainment, restaurants, pubs and bars take up nearly half (48%) of Britons’ dating- related spend, with around £2.8billion spent in this category alone in the UK during 2016, Cebr said.

The research surveyed more than 9,600 people across several countries, including 1,750 people in the UK.

It found that an average date in France or Germany costs both daters a total of £46, while dates in Italy typically cost £47 and £55 respectively. The research suggests that Britons spend more on transport to and from their date than people in the other European countries in the study.

Around 9% of UK date related spending was invested on travelling to and from a date, comparedwith an average of just 3% across the other countries surveyed.

The research also found evidence of a growing trend towards people in the UK having dates at home rather than going out.