Undeterred by the recession, the vast majority of the capital's SMEs intend to grow their business in the next 12 months.

Some 84 per cent of London's small enterprises are planning to expand over the coming year, according to a new survey by Business Link. Patrick Elliott, chief executive of Business Link in London, says: "What's telling from the [survey] is that this confidence is across the board – many entrepreneurs across regional, industry, and demographic groups are responding to the recession by aggressively seeking out new market opportunities."

Of those who are planning to grow, most intend to drive this through diversifying their business. Some 43 per cent plan to enter new markets, with 35 per cent looking to develop new products and services.

Nearly two-thirds of the 3,000 entrepreneurs surveyed said that the recession is still affecting their business, with 39 per cent saying the recession has significantly impacted overall budgets and expenditure.  

Earlier this month Mayor of London Boris Johnson claimed that the capital's SMEs would "pull the economy out of recession".

Source: Smallbusiness.co.uk