Earlier quoted context omitted.
Air to water heat pumps are typically less efficient than air to air. Both will work in cold UK temperatures. However the water is often heated to a higher temperature which can reduce efficiency.
That seems to not hold up when checking. Fx according to https://daikinquebec.net/en/heat-pump/air-vs-water-vs-geothe... Air2air have a cop of 2.5 - 3.2 while air2water it’s 3.0 to 3.5
Most UK houses have radiators and not underfloor heating and so cannot operate in that way without a hugely expensive retrofit of underfloor heating. It's typical to heat the water to over 50C if you want to reuse installed radiators. In this configuration the A2W pump is less efficient than A2A.
Worth noting these numbers are low. Latest A2A pumps can have COP of up to 4, but an A2W can achieve 4.5 if you keep water temps very low.