Many entrepreneurs are testing out their new business ideas alongside their day jobs, a new report reveals.

And a growing number of these individuals opt to stay in their chosen professions at the same time as launching their own small firms, according to the Sunday Times.

The new method of company formation is acting as a sideline for many of the UK's entrepreneurially-inclined businesspeople, the report states.

Lucy Wills, a businesswoman who combines her employment as an IT consultant with running her own jewellery firm, told the newspaper that the two jobs complement each other.

She said: "At times the consulting work brings in the money, at others it is the jewellery business. I'm freelance and while I'm between contracts it's a good way to bring in money. It means I'm less dependent on the consulting market."

Last year, research from Barclays suggested that there are an increasing number of women starting up their own businesses.