£400m victory for England

England's triumphant march through the European soccer championships is set to give the economy a £400million lift, experts said today.

Sales of food and drink have soared as fans watch England games and are set to increase when the side meet Portugal on Thursday.

Today a leading forecaster revealed every England victory is worth £150million in increased sales, and reaching the final would be worth up to £400million. As England celebrated last night's 4-2 demolition of Croatia, the impact of the feelgood factor became clear.

6.5 per cent on Saturday compared with the previous week and 9.3 per cent year-on-year.

Doug McWilliams, chief executive of economic forecasters, the CEBR, said: "Each additional game boosts the economy by about £120 million, but as the games get bigger then the figures go up. If England reach the final I could easily see it go as high as £150 million."

Paul Martin, a spokesman for Sainsbury's Supermarkets said: "The message to the England team from us is this - please keep winning. So far, we have sold 12,000 inflatable George Cross chairs, which have shifted at £10 each. And we have also sold over 40,000 footballs - people are also definitely getting into the spirit of things."

Retail monitor FootFall recorded a 6.5 per cent rise in shopping last weekend compared to last year. Managing director John Gallagher said: "The nation is in a buoyant mood ... and that feelgood factor seems to be continuing."

However, property experts believe the sudden slowdown in the housing market in May and June is partly explained by potential buyers staying in rather than viewing properties.