A survey, put together by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Grant Thornton, says the sector is experiencing its fastest rate of growth in more than a year and optimism is also rising.

Steve Edmonds, partner at Grant Thornton, said:

"Buoyed by a mini-resurgence in house prices and continued economic stability, consumers appear to have relaxed the belt-tightening tendencies seen over the past year.

"Consumer services firms are now reporting good performances for the past three months and a healthy outlook for the summer."

However, the survey found that the recent strong performance by professional services firms was starting to slip back.