Business confidence soared in Scotland in the final quarter of 2016, with exporting companies leading the charge.
The latest Business in Britain report from the Bank of Scotland found company confidence spiked by 15% to 21% between September and January.
The improvement in sentiment north of the border was in stark contrast to that seen in England and Wales where optimism levels fell 2% to 14%.
The index is a composite measure that takes into account respondents’ expected sales, orders and profits over the coming six month period.
Nick Laird, regional managing director for mid-markets, Bank of Scotland, said business owners were focusing on the job in hand.
“Business confidence in Scotland has increased markedly since September, a sign that we are entering 2017 with optimism,” Mr Laird said.
“While this year may present more challenges, which will include gaining a greater understanding of what impact leaving the EU may have, Scotland’s business owners are resilient and continuing to do what they do best – getting on with growing their businesses.”
While there was strong optimism levels, the research did find concerns from companies about the impact of Brexit on their operations as well as wider political uncertainty and the effect of regulation.
The major upturn, however, related to export confidence with a net 55% of Scottish companies stating they expected stronger sales in the next six months, a figure that has jumped from zero per cent in September.
The upturn was led by a big increase in firms anticipating stronger exports to Asia Pacific and the Americas.
Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist with Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The weaker pound has given a huge boost to exporters as they look beyond their traditional export markets of the US and Europe.
“However this has also led to a jump in the number of firms intending to raise the price of their goods and services in response to higher costs.
“As a result, we would expect inflationary pressures to rise this year.”