A survey of over 550 investment professionals and over 1,300 CEOs put the UK equal with Germany, up from fourth place last year, behind only the US and Canada. Those focused on the technology and financials industries in particular put the UK among the top three.

London is considered the second most important city for growth prospects over the next 12 months, behind New York and followed by Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco.

Hilary Eastman, head of global investor engagement at PwC, said: ‘Importance could be interpreted in a positive light – that the countries selected would be those expected to grow most or fastest. On that basis, the Brexit vote and all the uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future relationship with the EU appear not to be deterring investors.

‘However, some investment professionals we spoke to saw that “importance” could also be interpreted in a negative sense – that problems and greater volatility in the UK, for example, could have an important effect on slowing down companies’ growth,’ she warned.

Nearly half (45%) of investors and analysts said they were very confident about global economic growth, double the proportion in the 2016 survey (22%).

Investment professionals perceive geopolitical uncertainty as the top threat to company growth prospects. Protectionism, the future of the Eurozone and social instability also rank highly. In addition, almost one in five (19%) think technology will completely reshape competition within five years, and 85% expect automation to reduce company headcount.

Reflecting the ongoing tension between companies focusing on short term versus long term strategies and return on investment (ROI), investment professionals (70%) were less concerned than CEOs (85%) about companies running their business in a way that responds to wider stakeholder expectations.