George Osborne made a pitch for business support for the Conservatives in Britain’s closely fought election as he urged bosses to speak up for the party’s record on job creation.

Speaking to chief executives at a private breakfast in Davos, the chancellor said it was time for the corporate sector to find its voice and trumpet their economic success.

Osborne is not expecting business to publicly back the Conservatives in May but believes the tacit support for key government policies – such as the need for further deficit reduction – could be vital if the election is as tight as the polls suggest.

The private breakfast, an established Davos tradition, was attended by around 30 chief executives including boardroom veteran Sir Roger Carr, Barclays chairman Sir David Walker, BT chief executive Gavin Patterson, UK head of HSBC António Simões, and Iain Conn, the BP veteran who now runs Centrica.

Ahead of the last general election, the Conservatives were boosted by a round robin letter signed by executives supporting Osborne’s plan to cut employer national insurance contributions. Tory strategists are working on plans for another missive during the forthcoming campaign.

Some Labour figures are worried about Ed Miliband’s relationship with business following the opposition leader’s call for an energy price freeze, his attacks on the banks and his calls for a different sort of capitalism.

But the Conservatives are also battling with concerns about the UK’s role in Europe, which is also a contentious issue for British business.

The chancellor sat alongside the head of the CBI, John Cridland, during the 90–minute meeting, which was organised by accountants KPMG. The meeting comes at a sensitive time for UK business leaders - ahead of the general election in May, they are expecting a turbulent period with major sectors such as banking, energy supply and supermarket’s treatment of suppliers all likely to be hot topics for politicians.