Weak investment for entire year as UK firms show pre-Brexit jitters

Quarterly spending fall of 0.7% is fourth dip in a row, leading to fears of reduced growth

UK companies cut their investments in Britain in the second quarter of 2018 amid mounting uncertainty over Brexit, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of weak spending by firms, according to government figures.

The Office for National Statistics said spending on projects and assets including transport equipment, machinery, buildings and intellectual property fell by 0.7% over the three months to the end of June to 47.5bn.