UK’s sharing economy leads the way

Total transactions for the UK’s five most prominent sharing economy sectors – collaborative finance, peer-to-peer accommodation, peer-to-peer transportation, on-demand household services and on-demand professional services – could see a 20-fold increase to £140 billion by 2025, up from £7 billion today, according to new analysis by PwC.

Over the past year the UK’s sharing economy has grown faster than the rest of Europe, with the total value of transactions increasing by 92% compared to 77% across Europe from 2014 to 2015.

According to PwC, the UK’s position at the heart of Europe’s sharing economy has been driven by the recent establishment of London as a global FinTech hub, with the capital flowing through collaborative finance platforms expected to increase to £70 billion per year by 2025 from £3 billion today.

Between now and 2025, PwC analysis predicts the sharing economy will grow at over 30% per year, with growth broadly spread across the five key sharing economy sectors. Consequently, there will be a substantial injection of cash into the pockets of the micro-entrepreneurs providing these services, who are predicted to take home 87%, or £122 billion, of the total UK transaction value by 2025.

Commenting on the potential for growth in the UK’s sharing economy, Rob Vaughan, economist at PwC, said: “The sharing economy has matured into an established socio-economic trend that is fundamentally changing the way we lead our lives. From freelancing platforms altering the way we work to food-sharing platforms creating ways to connect in local communities, sharing economy businesses are enabling new economic and social interactions within the UK and across Europe.

“This is especially true in the UK, which is, and we expect to remain, a hub in the European sharing economy landscape. A strong start-up scene and proactive support from policy-makers and regulators has empowered the UK’s position so far, but other European countries are hungry for a slice of the action. As more policy frameworks are updated and the reach of sharing economy players expands outside their most mature markets, we expect other countries to gradually catch up with the UK.”