Shops cheer England as World Cup draws near
More good news for small businesses as England goes football mad, with shops, advertising firms and bookies expected to take the lion's share of a £1.25 billion surge in spending.
Independent shops are expected to make a mint from sales of convenience food and alcohol, while replica shirts and giant TVs are also predicted to sell like the proverbial hot cakes.
The figures come from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), which reckons the economic boost will be bigger if England do well in the tournament.
And the Soccernomics 2006 report by ABN Amro forecasts the economy of the winning nation to grow by 0.7%.
