90 per cent of southern companies have seen no increase in business, research shows.

The impact of the Olympics on the economy may have been over-stated, according to new research. Conducted on the eve of the Games, Business Environment’s study of companies in the south found that just a tenth of firms have seen an increase in business as a result of the event.

Furthermore, a majority of firms (65%) believed that the Olympics would have no effect on their business at all, even during the course of the event itself.

David Saul, Managing Director of Business  Environment, said: "While the Olympics are likely to be an inspiring sporting spectacle, and at the very least a great diversion for a country in recession and struggling through the wettest summer in years, they are not having the effect on business that many had predicted."

The research suggests that any positive effect from the Olympic Games will be limited to London. Businesses in the capital are more likely to have seen an increase in business as a result of the Games (13%, compared to 8% in the South West and 4% in the South East) and are more than twice as likely to think that the Olympics will have a positive effect on their business (25% in London compared to 8% in the South West and 16% in the South East).

One area in which the Games are expected to affect people is transport: almost three-quarters envisage disruptions during the course of the competition. However, less than a third have put plans in place to reduce disruption caused by the competition.