How single women are spending their money

According to Sophie Spence, head of new product development at the brewer Whitbread, single women are the 'Holy Grail' for alcoholic-beverage manufacturers. Pre-mixed, fruit-flavoured drinks such as Bacardi Breezer are enduring favourites with this crowd.

Top of the league of single-female-targeting pubs is All Bar One, whose brigade of women designers was charged with creating the original vision. Light and airy, with wooden floors and handbag hooks, the bars were the first to prioritise female-friendliness. Clean toilets, for instance, are apparently a must for women.

On eating out The demands of a hectic social calendar mean that eating out is the only option for today's single woman. With The Chardonnay Pound in mind, Carluccio's in Market Place and St Christopher's Place created their signature 'community tables' - big canteen-style tables which more than one party share - so that those awkward table-for-one moments are a thing of the past. Scattered with the latest glossies, the huge tables are the pitstop of choice for the fatigued shopper and fly-by exec power brunch.

On holidays 'A key trend we've noticed among single women is the city break,' says a spokesperson for Thomas Cook. 'Even whizzing across to New York for the weekend is becoming increasingly popular, which probably has something to do with increased spending power.' An estimated 50 per cent of the solo adventure traveller market is currently made up of single women, but the luxury end of the market is also recognising the potential of The Chardonnay Pound. For example, the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel has created packages for single women, including the 'Cinderella Night', which offers a deluxe room, aromatherapy session and room-service breakfast for £150.

On property Making up a staggering 70 per cent of first-time buyers in the UK, the single young woman is every estate agent's dream. To avoid the London housing nightmare, more clued-up spinsters have been putting their purses together for added spending power. Super-neighbourly urban groups, or SNUGs to those in the know, are colonies of singles who invade a large house or apartment block, in a suitably hip area of London. The SNUG hotspot? East London. Disused warehouses are rich pickings for snuggies eager to create loft-style settlements.