The February barometer showed that confidence increased by 19 points to reach a net balance of 15%, with companies reporting higher levels of confidence in their prospects as well as higher economic optimism.

This optimism was reflected in businesses’ hiring intentions, with a net 5% of companies expecting to hire more staff throughout the next year.

Across the UK as a whole, overall confidence remained unchanged at 23%. From a regional perspective, London was the most confident region (29%) followed by the West (28%) and East (27%) Midlands.

The East of England (26%), the South East (24%) and the South West (24%), remained close to the UK average of 23%. The least confident regions were the Northern Ireland (-8%) and Wales (-2%), both moving into negative sentiment.

The Bank of Scotland survey was conducted with 1,200 companies, with a total of 84 businesses in Scotland.

Fraser Sime, regional director at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking, said: “This increase in confidence shows great resilience from Scottish businesses. However, companies are likely to act with an element of caution throughout 2020 as some political and economic uncertainty remains.”