The number of UK entrepreneurs that are keen to sell their businesses has more than doubled in the past year, according BDO Stoy Hayward, the accounting firm, representing a growing opportunity for private equity firms.

Peter Hemington, head of mergers and acquisitions at the firm, said: "We have seen a marked increase in the numbers of entrepreneurs looking to sell in the last three months." He said entrepreneurs were particularly keen to benefit from capital gains tax modifications recently introduced by Gordon Brown, the UK chancellor of the exchequer.