The figure discovered by research involves the total that singles spent to cover expenses like food, drink, entertainment and transport. Food and drink when for 48% of the for couples in the UK. Overall, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) revealed that dating brings in £5.89bn to the UK every year. CEBR compiled the research for dating site Match.com.

Several Countries Surveyed - Results

Over 9,600 in several countries underwent the survey with 1,750 of them living in the UK. It was revealed that in Germany and France, the average figure that a date cost was £46 and £46 in Italy. Even in Sweden it wasn’t as high as one would imagine at £41. The Netherlands and Spain, on the other hand, were somewhat higher at £52 and £55 per date respectively.

Another result of the study showed that UK singles spent the most on transport. 9% of the UK average was being spent on travel, whereas other countries in the survey only spent 3%.

Far Too Much

According to dating coach Rebecca Darkin, £129 is far too much for anyone to spend on a single date. According to her, this is especially true of those who are only out in the early stages of getting to know one another. “It’s a numbers game,” she stated, because going out to dinner in generally very expensive.

There's nothing wrong with meeting, having a coffee and a slice of cake and just finding out if you really like somebody first before you go out and maybe take them on a little bit more of a dinner date.

CEBR research also showed that a lot of daters in the UK preferred a night in, rather than going out. What’s also interesting is that, in Britain the total spent on eating during a date has actually increased by £153m in the last year.