Huw was joined by colleagues Graeme Chaplin, Glynn Jones and Tim Willems at the event at Coombe Abbey Hotel alongside 12 businesspeople from the region, representing hospitality, retail, manufacturing, property, utilities and technology.

The discussion covered a range of topics from the rising cost of doing business through to some of the factors holding back growth – from the planning process through to uncertainty over whether to invest.

Huw said the Bank remained focused on getting consumer price inflation back to the target of two per cent.

He said: “Events such as this, along with the information our colleagues in the Agency team gather from businesses across the region, are extremely important in helping us to understand what it’s like on the ground for companies.”

Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It was great to have such a high-level, insightful conversation with Huw Pill and the team from the Bank of England, who we speak to throughout the year.

“Our members covered a huge amount of ground and all of their comments and intelligence were taken on board and will feed into the decision-making process around interest rates.

“What came across to me during this discussion and in the dozens of conversations we have with businesses on a weekly basis is that there are the green shoots of confidence out there but that firms have been stung by a decade of uncertain and unpredictable times.

“They are, therefore, looking to institutions such as the Bank to create a stable platform for growth and to Government to remove – or at least not add to – some of the barriers that are blocking stronger economic growth.”