Britons spend 75bn pounds a year on partying!

London, April 14 (ANI): A survey has found that Britons spend 75 billion pounds per year partying.

The research by Payments Council, called the Way We Pay 2010, showed almost a fifth of total spend (18 percent) is now on fun activities, which is equivalent to more than 30 pounds a week for every adult, reports the Daily Star.

The biggest increase has been in restaurants, up more than threefold to 30 billion pounds in 2009, but pub and wine bar spending has also rocketed to 23 billion pounds from less than 10 billion pounds 10 years ago.

And the report found holidaymakers are splashing out more and indulging themselves while on trips abroad, with spending up 89 percent to 32 billion pounds last year.

But the study also showed spending has soared on less enjoyable outgoings as well, with mortgage commitments tripling to 79 billion pounds between 1999 and 2009 as house prices raced higher over the noughties.

The report showed that council tax and utility costs have also increased above inflation.

And that wages are likewise being stretched to cover new regular costs, such as payment for Internet access, with spend on that service increasing tenfold since 1999 to 2.9 billion pounds.

Childcare is another high spend area, up to 3.5 billion pounds in total last year.

The Council added that its figures showed the supermarket sector had increased its "stranglehold on our wallets", taking 55p in every 1 pound spent in shops last year. This was up from 48p in 1999.

In a further sign of their dominance of the retail industry, the study reported that supermarkets took 18.4 billion pounds of spend that would otherwise have gone to other retailers - around 369 pounds per adult each year.

They also appeared to have cornered the petrol market, with 15.9 billion pounds spent on supermarket forecourts in 2009, which is 500 million pounds more than in regular filling stations. (ANI)