More people in the UK were thinking of setting up in business in 2011 than in the last ten years, with a fifth of adult Britons either already running a business or expecting to run one in the next 3 years, according to a new report.

The study, from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) published by Aston University, also found that the number of new businesses remained stable in 2011, with 3.4% of the UK working age population running a business that was less than 3 years old. The study also noted a rise in female entrepreneurs, with 49% of adults in the early stages of setting up a business being female – up from 44% in 2010.

Although the number of people setting up a business out of necessity (lack of other opportunities) rose from 0.7% to 1.3%, the report found this figure remained much less than opportunity driven entrepreneurship, which rose from 5.1% to 6% in 2011.

National enterprise campaign StartUp Britain’s co-founder Emma Jones said of the report: "I'm delighted to see these results show the highest recorded number of people starting a business.

Across the country, people are turning a hobby into a way of making a living and spotting niche gaps in the market to fill. It's never been so cheap to start a business and there's an abundance of support available.”