Brits plan billion pound World Cup shopping spree

World Cup fevered Brits will fork out more than £1 billion* over the next fortnight on state-of-the art entertainment equipment in order to enjoy the beautiful game, according to new research from Direct Line Home Insurance.

One in five (18 per cent) football-crazed Brits** are planning to snap up more than a million wide screen TVs (5 per cent), satellite boxes (3 per cent) and recordable DVD players (2 per cent), spending an average of £369 each.

Yet it appears that their enjoyment of this kit may be short-lived as nearly a third (29 per cent)*** plan to invite friends around to watch games, with many predicting a repeat performance of the 2002 World Cup, when close to one in ten (12 per cent) report that damage was done during celebrations at home.

The majority of party damage was caused by spontaneous celebrations – the most common incidents include stained carpets or upholstery (12 per cent) from drink spillages and furniture broken by people standing on it (1 per cent).

The Direct Line research also reveals the big gender gap spanning football fandom - men expect to spend £461 each on World Cup indulgences with women spending just over half that, at £245 each.

Direct Line Home Insurance spokesperson Simon Ziviani commented:

“Once again, World Cup fever is set to sweep the land with millions of homeowners snapping up the latest home entertainment kit and inviting friends and relatives over to enjoy the games in surround-sound, full colour glory.

“It’s fantastic that so many people are getting into the spirit of the tournament, however the downside is that in spite of the obvious risks, more than half (57 per cent) of those planning expensive purchases tell us that they won’t re-assess the value of their home contents for insurance purposes.

“These people risk footing the bill themselves and should take care their World Cup celebrations don’t come back to haunt them.”

For more information, log on to www.directline.com.

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Simon Ziviani/Direct Line Press Office
0208 256 2270 / 07985 421646
Email: simon.ziviani@directline.com

Notes to Editors:

The research was carried out online between 28 April – 2 May 2006. YouGov interviewed 2458 UK adults aged 18 and over

*24,989,193 Brits will follow the FIFA World Cup this year. One in ten (11 per cent) of these will buy expensive electronic equipment, at an average of £369.73 each. Total spend – 2,748,811 x 369.73 = £1,016,317,976

** 55 per cent of those surveyed say that they plan to follow England’s progress in the FIFA World Cup this year

***A third of the 55 per cent who plan to follow the FIFA World Cup will invite guests to their homes to watch the games