The UK is a good place for those seeking to set up a new business, one industry body has said.
Simon Briault, spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "One of the benefits of the UK is that it's actually quite easy to set up a business.
"There isn't the red-tape and the legal hoops to jump that you have to jump through in other European countries."
Mr Briault gave the example of France where it is not possible to set up a business unless you first become a member of the regulating body for that area.
However, he added that while starting an SME was "mercifully quite an easy thing to do" in this country, the "problem comes when you try to expand".
Employment law and health and safety issues could then become a problem, he said.
A recent poll in the Financial Times found that 57 per cent of people who expressed an opinion said the UK was "a good place to set up new companies".
