Around seven in ten Londoners harbour ambitions of starting their own business according to a major new study.
The research, conducted by the British Library’s Business and IP Centre, involved more than 1,000 adults living in the capital and is indicative of an apparently increased interest in launching enterprises.
The group polled had been selected to provide a representative sample of the sexes, nationalities and age groups which live in the city.
Around seventy per cent of those questioned said they liked the idea of launching their own venture, with the desire to become their own boss and wanting greater control over the future some of the main motivations.
Lack of funding, uncertainty about the processes involved and financial commitments were cited as being among the main obstacles to realising these ambitions.
Interestingly, those from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority groups were more likely than the population as a whole to want to strike out on their own.
The research follows separate statistics which suggest that start-up companies are a major driving force behind the rising number of VAT-registered businesses in the UK.
There are now 2.1million firms trading nationwide, four per cent more than were recorded 12 months previously.
And there are a growing number of young entrepreneurs entering the marketplace, with 400,000 firms in the UK founded by someone born during or after 1982.
