The latest Deloitte survey of finance directors show more seven out of 10 UK chief financial officers believe the credit will get worse.

An overwhelming majority of 83% said credit was now hard to obtain, up from 63% in March and 48% in September last year.

‘The squeeze on liquidity is increasingly transmitting itself to the corporate sector through a reduced supply and rising cost of credit,’ Margaret Ewing, Deloitte partner and vice chairman, said.

Finance directors are also less confident about the outlook for corporate earnings and 56% believe corporate earnings will grow more slowly than the average 5% rate expected by City analysts, the report said.