At the same time, small businesses are burdened with a huge debt burden and difficulty raising finance as lenders reduce financing availability.

The appetite to borrow and issue debt is at the lowest level since the financial crisis, with demand for credit well below average levels and flagging, found Deloitte’s quarterly survey of chief financial officers (CFOs).

Around two-thirds (70%) of the CFOs surveyed said credit was ‘costly’, with only 28% expecting demand for finance to increase over the next 12 months.

With interest rates at 3.5%, CFOs rate credit as being more expensive than at any time since 2009. In addition, 45% said new credit was hard to get.