According to a survey by independent financial services body TheCityUK, 27 per cent of small businesses see other EU countries as their main growth markets while 16 per cent are focused on the US and Canada.

Just 11 per cent look to China, which recently overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest economy. Another 9 per cent are focussed on India while Ireland (7 per cent) came in higher than Brazil (6 per cent) and Russia (5 per cent).

CEO of TheCityUK Chris Cummings says, ‘UK SMEs have valuable established trading relationships with developed markets. That is understandable, given perceptions of ease of doing business in them.

‘Emerging markets, on the other hand are, for some businesses, still a mountain to climb. Yet emerging markets represent their most exciting prospect of a profitable future.’