London 2012: 93% of Firms Doubt Financial Benefits of Olympics

Ninety-three percent of British businesses expect a negative effect from the London 2012 Olympic Games despite an extra one million people being in the country, according to a new study.

Supply chain disruption, higher hotel costs, limited staff attendance and lower productivity caused most concern for the 1,200 businesses surveyed for the study by telecoms giant BT.

BT said businesses risked making the same mistakes as those in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, where 49 percent of businesses said they felt like they had missed an opportunity.

Almost a third of British businesses said they were unprepared for the 2012 games. Businesses keen to exploit the games' potential have spent an average of 19 months on preparations.

There is some optimism among the surveyed companies with 45 percent predicting a hike in sales and the same percentage foreseeing new international business coming in. A third anticipate a surge in profits.

"The Olympics had a huge economic benefit in Vancouver and across Canada as a whole," said Colin Hansen, the former British Columbia minister responsible for the Vancouver 2010 games.

"But the scale of the event was much bigger than anybody expected and many companies just weren't geared up for how big the opportunity would be.

"Nobody in the UK should expect next summer to be business as usual, but with the right plans in place, such as flexible working, every business - large or small - can take advantage and seize the long-term economic benefits."