Many businesses want to do business in London (of course), but find that they cannot afford to. The price of renting offices, of living within the M25, of transport for staff, is often all too much for small or start up businesses in these harsh economic conditions.

However, if you are based outside of the capital, one clever way of still getting London business is to have a London phone number, starting with 020. 0207, 0203 and 0208 numbers are all available from www.thevirtualnumbercompany.co.uk .

They just point them at your existing landline or mobile phone. You still keep your same number, but also have a virtual number which people call and it goes through to your normal phone. This gives you the impression of being a London business when you are not, and is a much cheaper alternative to renting London property that you cannot afford.