UK Households Nearly £100,000 Wealthier Since 2003: Lloyds

British households are nearly £100,000 richer than a decade ago, according to a report

Household wealth hit £7.84tn ($13.2tn, €9.61tn) at the end of 2013, a £3.07tn increase over the decade, or £96,000 per household, the report by Lloyds Bank stated.

Household wealth over the past year shot up by £717bn, the largest annual increase in a decade, the 10 May report added.

Lloyds's measure of wealth included financial assets such as bank deposits, shares, government bonds, pensions, and housing wealth.

"Increasing activity in the housing market and continued growth in equity prices has boosted household wealth. These figures, to an extent, provide further evidence that the recovery in the UK economy is gathering pace," Ashish Misra, head of investment policy at Lloyds Bank Private Banking wrote in Saturday's report.

"A booming housing market coupled with rising equity prices have resulted in a rapid expansion in the number of millionaires," Misra added.

Economic Recovery

Britain's economic recovery is growing faster every month, according to a 9 May report.

The National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said in its monthly GDP forecast that the UK economy grew by 1% in the three months to the end of April, up from 0.8% in the quarter to 31 March.

That means output would be just 0.17% below its previous peak in early 2008 as the economic recovery strengthens.

In a separate forecast, the NIESR said the UK economy will grow by 2.9% in 2014. That would be the fastest rate for any western country.

However, the influential thinktank also said that real wages are still 6% below their peak – and will not reach it again until 2018.

The UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014, according to a preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That's up from 0.7% in the previous quarter.