The report revealed that 34% of firms reported an increase in sales over the summer quarter, which was slightly up on figures from quarter one of the year.

However, survey respondents reported that trading was getting harder thanks to tough competition from the supermarkets, and that the raft of legislation from Europe was making it harder for small businesses to employ staff.

The report showed that Scotland had the highest proportion of enterprises reporting growth in sales, while over a third of London businesses reported sales decline.