Confidence among UK finance chiefs hits record high – Deloitte By Reuters – Investing.com

Confidence among UK finance chiefs hits record high – Deloitte By Reuters – Investing.com

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The City of London financial district can be seen as people walk along the south side of the River Thames, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in London

LONDON (Reuters) - Confidence among big businesses in Britain about their profits in the year ahead has hit a record high, helped by the country's coronavirus vaccinations and hopes for less Brexit disruption, a survey of chief finance officers showed. After the biggest hit to Britain's economy in more than three centuries last year, accountancy firm Deloitte said its poll found CFOs were planning to increase hiring and investment. Most workers were expected to return to their offices between July and September after working from home for much of the past year. Almost 10% of CFOs had experienced significant or severe disruption due to Brexit but only 3% expected that level of disruption to persist in a year's time, Deloitte said on Monday. "Brexit has been a significant dampener on business activity in the last four years but with the UK's final departure from the EU, such effects are fading," Ian Stewart, Deloitte's chief economist, said, noting most CFOs still thought Britain's departure from the European Union would hurt