Love hits purses in the City
If money really does buy love, then a lot of Londoners should be reaping the rewards by now – and finding the cost written out on their credit card bills.
A new league table released by Barclaycard Business has totted up card spending at florists and jewellers in the run-up to Valentines Day and found the rising London wages equipped the capital to lead the way.
In the fortnight up to February 14th, Londoners shelled out an average of £132 in romance-related card transactions, followed by Birmingham with £107 and Yorkshire with £100.
At the bottom of the table, traditional Welsh frugality triumphed over Valentines extravagance with Powis spending a low average of £32, just preceded by the Channel Islands on £38 and Cambridgeshire on £42.
Brendan Rogers, Barclaycard Business spokesperson said 'There is a significant difference across the country in the average amount spent on traditional gifts such as jewellery and flowers, indicating that while we may believe in the notion of spoiling our Valentine, not all of want to suffer the real price of love.'
The research reveals the rise in the popularity of jewellery as a standard Valentines gift, responsible for almost three times as much high street spending as flowers. | 
