LONDON (Reuters) - British companies increased their investment by more than expected in the three months to September as the economy grew solidly following June's vote to leave the European Union, official data showed on Friday.
Business investment expanded at a quarterly rate of 0.9 percent in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said, beating expectations for a 0.6 percent rise in a Reuters poll of economists.
The ONS confirmed that Britain's economy grew 0.5 percent in the third quarter, helped by a rebound in exports and robust household spending.
While this resembles a much better performance than most economists had expected in the immediate aftermath of June's Brexit vote, a much bigger test awaits next year.
Rising inflation caused by the pound's post-Brexit vote plunge looks set to squeeze household spending, while there have been concerns that business investment looks set to slow.
"Investment by businesses held up well in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, though it's likely most of those investment decisions were taken before polling day," Darren Morgan, an ONS statistician, said.
"That, coupled with growing consumer spending fueled by rising household income, and a strong performance in the dominant service industries, kept the economy expanding broadly in line with its historic average."
Britain's households increased their spending by 0.7 percent in the third quarter, slowing slightly but still helping to drive the economy in the face of uncertainty around Brexit.
Net trade added 0.7 percentage points to economic growth, the biggest positive contribution since early 2014 and helped by strong growth in exports after the pound's post-referendum plunge.
The economy overall expanded 2.3 percent versus the same period a year earlier, unchanged from a preliminary estimate.
Britain's independent budget forecaster said on Wednesday that the economy looks set to slow sharply next year, expanding by around 1.4 percent, down from about 2.1 percent this year.
Services output increased 0.8 percent in the July-September period, compared with a 0.9 percent slide in manufacturing and a 1.1 percent drop in construction output.
(This story was refiled to add dropped word "to September")