New research conducted by peer-to-peer platform Funding Circle has found that the 57 per cent of small business owners in the UK are in favour of joining the EFTA.

The EFTA, also known as the ‘Norway option’ is a free trade area comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

By joining EFTA, the UK could retain access to the single market.

The new data found that small businesses were most impressed with EFTA’s easier exporting and importing, larger customer base, and lower tariffs.

Economic confidence among small business owners has grown by 5 per cent since July, and 40 per cent have reported that they felt optimistic about the state of the economy.

James Meekings, co-founder of Funding Circle, insists that the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) is a priority for small businesses and encourages the rest of the industry to do what is needed to encourage their “growth and success”.