Recession start-ups are more profitable

Recession start-ups are also more bullish about the future, with 17pc looking to hire within the next year. Just 13pc of older businesses are taking on new staff.

The UK’s recession start-ups are the most likely to hire new employees, with 21pc taking on new people.

Recession start-ups are more likely to be export orientated – 28pc are selling goods or services overseas, compared to 17pc of older firms.

The start-ups launched in 2007 and 2008 are also more likely to invest their cash into developing new products or services – 39pc versus 27pc.

Bronek Masojada, CEO of Hiscox, said: “The dogged entrepreneurs behind these businesses are more likely to say that the economic environment has made them more likely to succeed. This is true grit.”

The majority - or 56pc - of recession start-ups were launched by women. This is up from 46pc at older businesses.

Young people are more likely to launch a company during tough times – 42pc of recession start-ups are run by business owners under 40, compared with just 15pc at other firms.

Some of the world’s most successful businesses were started during a financial crisis. Microsoft was launched during recession following the 1973 oil crisis and General Electric was founded during the Depression of the 1890s.

Hiscox polled 1,000 business owners from the UK and 500 each from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the US for the survey.

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