The shine is about to come off the UK’s bold economic recovery, according to business group the CBI, but the economy remains “on solid ground”.

Growth hit 0.8 per cent in each of the first and second quarters of 2014, a major rebound from sluggish performances in previous years and much faster than the European average, but the CBI says the speed of the recovery will ease as business and confidence begins to level off.

"The UK's recovery is on solid ground, with our quarterly growth on average outstripping G7 competitors over the last year," said John Cridland, CBI director general.

"For the rest of this year, we expect growth to get on to a more even keel and the recovery to become further entrenched next year."

The CBI expects growth of 0.7 per cent in the third quarter and 0.6 per cent in the fourth, giving an reading of 2.9 per cent over the calendar year. It says growth will hit three per cent next year and 2.7 per cent in 2016.

In related news, revisions to official statistics released by the government revealed that the economy grew by a slightly faster rate in each year between 1997-to-2012.

The 0.1 per cent annual upward revision came as figures included the impact of illegal drugs, prostitution and charities were included in the results for the first time.