What was the name of the 1973–1974 stock-market crash in the United Kingdom?

The 1973–1974 stock-market crash was the major bear market that struck the United Kingdom during the global economic turmoil of that period.

The decline began after the end of a long postwar expansion and was worsened by inflation, the 1973 oil crisis, industrial disputes, and recession. In the United Kingdom, the Financial Times Ordinary Share Index fell heavily between 1972 and 1974. The downturn was part of a broader international collapse in equity prices rather than an isolated London event.

The crash also coincided with severe economic pressures in the United States and other industrial countries. Higher energy costs reduced corporate profits, while inflation and weak growth created the conditions later called “stagflation.” Banking and property problems added to the strain in several markets.

This episode is sometimes confused with the 1973 oil crisis itself. The oil crisis was a major economic shock caused by supply disruption and price increases; the stock-market crash was the resulting market decline, shaped by several additional financial and political factors.