OPTIMISM among the UK’s largest businesses has rebounded to the highest level in 18 months, according to Deloitte’s latest CFO Survey.

Despite increased confidence, CFOs (chief financial officers) will enter 2017 with low levels of risk appetite, high levels of uncertainty and a focus on defensive balance sheet strategies.

A total of 119 CFOs of FTSE 350 and other large private companies participated in the survey for the last quarter of 2016, with 27 per cent of them saying they are more optimistic about the prospects for their companies, up from 16 per cent in the previous quarter and three per cent immediately after the EU referendum.

This compares with 22 per cent who said they were less optimistic than they were three months ago, making this the first quarter since the second quarter of 2015 when a net balance of CFOs were more optimistic than not.

Increased optimism comes despite levels of uncertainty remaining above normal,with 89 per cent of CFOs saying they face high levels of economic and financial uncertainty, up slightly from 88 per cent in the previous quarter, but down from 95 per cent in the immediate aftermath of the referendum.

Similarly, levels of risk appetite remain well below average, with 80 per cent of CFOs saying now is not a good time to take risks onto their balance sheets, down from 82 per cent in the third quarter and 92 per cent after the referendum.