Almost half the adults in the UK have come up with an idea for a business but only a tenth have made the concept a reality; with lack of cash and confidence the main barriers.

These are the findings of a poll commissioned by @UK, which also revealed the youth of today are the best at generating ideas although they often struggle to see them through. Some 60 per cent of 16-24 year olds had developed a concept, with just five per cent actually executing them.

The two principal reasons for this poor idea-to-execution rate were given as a shortage of money and not enough confidence, closely followed by a lack of knowledge of where to start, which was cited by 37 per cent of respondents.

Yorkshire and the South West appear to be the best regions for overcoming these barriers, with almost a fifth of each making their business dream happen.

‘As a nation, it’s clear that we have the will,’ says Lyn Duncan, managing director of @UK. ‘Budding entrepreneurs just need the confidence to strike out and take that step. If we can provide people with the basic know-how and a simple means of managing all the administrative processes, we’ll be more than halfway there.’