Optimism among UK small businesses has reached its highest ever point, with all industry sectors feeling in bullish mood about the short-term future.

That’s according to the Small Business Index published today by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which hit an all-time high of +41 points.

More than three fifths of business expect to grow in the next 12 months, while one-in-10 think they are about to grow “rapidly”. It is the seventh consecutive quarter that confidence has improved in the FSB score.

On a regional basis, the North East of England recorded the biggest improvement with a sentiment score of +44 compared with -7 this time last year. The South East remains most confident, however, with a score of +52.

FSB boss John Allan said: "We're seeing record breaking confidence from our members which suggests small firms will continue to spearhead the UK's recovery.

“We want policy makers to lock in this optimism and continue to back the self-employed and small businesses.

“As we head in to party conference season, we'll be looking to all the political parties to spell out what they will do to encourage job creation, investment and reward entrepreneurs in the next Parliament."