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."

Unemployment has reached its highest level in 14 years. According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment increased by 220,000 in the three months to June to 2.44 million, taking the jobless rate to 7.8 per cent.

Brendan Barber, general secretary at the Trades Union Congress, says: "Despite the talk of green shoots, unemployment continues to rise at an alarming rate - the fourth highest quarterly rise on record. Today's figures show we are still some way off recovery."

Bosses are finding it difficult to tear themselves away from the office while on holiday.

According to a survey by stationery company Euroffice.co.uk, nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents intend to contact the office this summer while away. Of those, 39 per cent said they plan to call in a couple of times throughout their break, 25 per cent said they will contact the office once a day and 23 per claimed they will be checking in several times a day.