An increasing number of women are setting up businesses and the trend is good news for the country as a whole, it has been claimed.

A spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has maintained that a more equal balance among of men and women within the company-owning community is desirable and beginning to be achieved.

The FSB representative noted that starting up a business at home can be particularly attractive for women who need to establish a balance between their professional and private lives.

Additionally, it is suggested that the tendency among female entrepreneurs is to start up a business later than in their lives than is usually the case among men with the same aims.

He said: "The number of women setting up a business is increasing rapidly, which is really good news."

The latest figures from the Small Business Service indicate that the number of self-employed women in the UK has risen by ten per cent since 2002 and now stands at over a million.