By demonstrating their supreme capabilities in delivery the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games well-on-time and well-under budget, the United Kingdom has paved the way for future international investment, claimed the UKTI director of 2012 delivery, Tony Sims.

UKTI, the Government department which works together with British based businesses to ensure their success in international markets, said London 2012 had put the United Kingdom in the "shop window" not just for sporting events, but for business too.

For the first time ever, UKTI and the British Olympic Association (BOA) have worked together to persuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow businesses to promote their work on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and in doing so have created a "supplier recognition scheme".

Until now, businesses have been under strict regulations which prevent them from associating themselves with the Games.

"The next 12-18 months are critical, while we still have the Olympic glow around us," Sims told the conference here today.

"It is a fantastic time for UK businesses to capitalise on projects they were involved in, and also for everyday businesses in general, as the world now recognising how great the UK is for business expertise.

"The UK now has to experience the process of having staged a home event and then making use of this in order to maximise their success and win contracts abroad."

In lifting these restrictions, British companies can apply to the BOA for a free licence which allows them promote their hard work, and furthermore work towards securing deals internationally and driving forward British business all around the world.

British businesses are among the biggest to benefit from the London 2012

With future major event hosts such as Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016, along with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, now turning to the UK for expertise and knowledge, UKTI hope this will enable them to achieve their £13 million ($20m/€15m) objective set by the British Government off the back of the London 2012 Games - £2 million ($3m/€2m) of which will need to come from tourism, headed by Visit Britain.

UKTI played a big role during the Games for British business by hosting 18 days worth of summits entitled "British Business Embassy" at London's Lancaster House.

These summits showcased much of the UK's investment attraction and brought together an impressive 4,000 visitors - many of which were the world's top investors.

UKTI now has a large list of missions and activities set in place, working with creative industries in Brazil, health care in Taiwan, creating sustainable infrastructure in China and working on transport in India.

These high value opportunities hope to bring in additional investment to the United Kingdom over the next four years.

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