An estimated 825,000 expats have cancelled plans to return to Britain in the last year, according to a study commissioned by Lloyds TSB International.

It found some 15% of the estimated 5.5 million British people who are living overseas have cancelled plans to return in the last year.

They say their quality of life is better abroad, their finances are healthier, their cost of living lower and their neighbourhoods safer.

In fact, expats are increasingly shelving plans to return to the UK at all – the proportion of expats who now plan to live away from the UK indefinitely has grown by 13% in 12 months, to 69%.

Expats say they have a better quality of life abroad – 74% hold this view against just se7ven% who say it was better in the UK. They claim they are financially better-off – 64%, against just 12% who say they were wealthier in the UK. And some 52% say their cost of living is lower abroad, while only 24% say it is now more expensive.

Tony Wilcox, managing director of expatriate banking at Lloyds TSB International, said: “Expats have an enlightening view of the UK