Some 70 per cent of the firms who have won contracts to supply work to the games are small or medium-sized businesses.

In addition, around 98 per cent of these companies are from the UK.

Nearly 90 per cent of those firms registered on the service which puts up adverts of available Olympic contracts are SMEs, the ODA reports.

Contracts issued for Olympic work are expected to be worth up to £6 billion as the games are used as an opportunity to regenerate the East End of London.

John Armitt, chairman of the ODA, says that small firms are ‘getting the biggest benefit’ from the London 2012 games.

Working in the London project also means SMEs are ‘getting themselves in pole position to compete for future work in the supply chains of our major contractors,’ he comments.

In May, Tessa Jowell promised that small businesses would benefit from the Olympics, with the government ‘absolutely determined’ to get them involved in planning and construction.