Respondents to wave 10 of the study, carried out in April, said revenues grew by 2.2% in the previous 12 months, whereas those surveyed for wave nine, in October, reported spend up 6.6%.

Larger agencies – those with more than 50 employees – are performing better overall than their smaller counterparts, RSM said.

The outlook for the next 12 months is for growth of 4.3%, though RSM notes that agency respondents tend to forecast higher growth than is subsequently achieved. Clients taken alone are significantly less bullish – expecting a 5.3% decrease in spend.

RSM will report more detailed results soon. Data comes from 280 UK respondents, including 33 clients.