Growth in the UK’s private sector picked up in the three months to February, exceeding expectations for modest growth, according to the latest CBI Growth Indicator.

This showed the balance of firms reporting a rise in output at +20%, up from +9% in the three months to January. Growth strengthened across the board and was far above the long-run average in most sectors.

Looking ahead, the pace of growth is expected to edge higher over the three months to May (+24%), underpinned by a pick-up in retail and robust growth in all other sub-sectors.

During this year and next, the CBI expects conditions to remain challenging for consumer-facing companies and retailers, with higher inflation and weak wage growth squeezing household budgets.

Meanwhile, manufacturers should continue to benefit from the lower level of sterling and the improving global economic environment.

CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said: “It is good to see firm growth in the UK economy, and expectations of growth into next quarter also look positive.

“However, both businesses and consumers continue to grapple with uncertainty over the economic outlook.

“The Government must help to counter this by intensifying its focus on the domestic agenda, with industrial strategy leading the way to deliver higher productivity and living standards.”