Companies from five to nine years old are the best placed to benefit from the downturn, according to accountancy firm Tenon.

Companies from five to nine years old are the best placed to benefit from the downturn, according to research from accountancy firm Tenon.

Some 37 per cent of such companies say the slump has provided opportunities for them, compared with a national average of 29 per cent, according to the firm’s survey of 1,264 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Businesses that have been up and running for more than 20 years are the least likely to have seen benefits (26 per cent).

Carl Jackson, head of Tenon’s business recovery division, says that SMEs of between five and nine years old may not have experienced a downturn in the past, but they often have sufficient experience to make the right decisions.

He adds, ‘[Longer] established firms have the experience but often lack the flexibility to make significant changes or system overhauls.’

The businesses most likely to prosper in 2009 are online retailers, repair services, pawnbrokers and outsourced service providers, according to Tenon’s predictions for the new year.

Leisure and hospitality, property, retail, travel and the automotive industry are the sectors most likely to suffer.