According to thebestof, web-wise SMEs plan to grow their businesses by 41 per cent in the coming year – the figure for more conventional small businesses was 20 per cent.

Commenting on the figures, Nigel Botterill, chief executive of thebestof, says: ‘The first wave of the internet seemed to be all about the major brands and retailers, or businesses like lastminute.com or ebay, whose whole premise is built online.

‘What this research shows is that there’s a whole generation of ordinary small businesses – bridal companies, builders, recruitment firms, solicitors – who have been quietly working in the background, using the web to steal market share from their bigger competitors.’

The study also claims that more than three-quarters of small enterprises have websites and a further 46 per cent use search engine optimisation.