Forget Valentine's Day - February 14 named busiest day for divorces

Thousands of married couples filed for divorce on Valentine's Day last year, figures suggest.

Although not traditionally associated with the romantic celebration, solicitors, attorneys and legal services saw the biggest trading increase on February 14, 2018 across a network of 70,000 businesses.

Paymentsense - which records the data - said the sector saw a 549% increase in trade last Valentine’s Day, compared with the annual average, suggesting that the occasion could be a trigger for some couples to begin separation proceedings.

Florists' trading peaked on February 13, with sales volumes of five times the annual average.

It said Valentine’s is the second most important time of the year for florists, behind the Mother’s Day weekend which saw a sales uplift of 765% vs. average in 2018.

Top destinations for a Valentine’s night date in 2018 were bowling, which enjoyed a 191% increase in sales, the cinema (154%), amusement arcades (138%), and tourist attractions and exhibitions (122%).

Guy Moreve, of Paymentsense, said: "We were surprised to see that legal firms achieved the best percentage sales growth on Valentine’s Day last year - even beating florists.

"We’ll be watching closely over the next few days to see if this trend is repeated. Our findings also underline how certain events can trigger consumer spending in unexpected areas.

"Just because a company might not seem directly related to a particular festival or occasion, business owners can still take the opportunity to think laterally when it comes to customer promotions, beyond the more obvious tie-ins."