James Caan is to launch a business academy in London aimed at start-ups and small business owners.

He says: ‘The problem with being the boss is you have no-one guiding you. Asking businessman friends seems like defeat and you don’t want to admit you’re a novice. But everyone needs a helping hand.’

Caan says that the courses will draw on his own experiences as an entrepreneur: ‘I wish I had had the opportunity to learn from others who had already made the mistakes I was about to make. I have no doubt it would have helped me achieve my success far sooner.’

The Entrepreneurs’ Business Academy will launch with a one-day seminar on 20 March.

Last year Peter Jones launched his National Enterprise Academy (NEA) for 16-19-year-olds.