Members of the Institute of Directors (IoD) certainly seem to think so. Asked in a survey whether London's new Mayor is likely to have a positive impact on business, 71 per cent of IoD members said they thought he would

Johnson was elected on a business-friendly manifesto, but he takes office at a time when the economy is turning down. And although London generates 17 per cent of the UK's GDP the Mayor's powers to influence economic strategy are strictly limited.

For all his good intentions towards business, Mayor Boris could find he has taken office in the wrong place at the wrong time. These worries have already surfaced among London's business community. "Our concern is that the Mayor of London has limited powers over the factors affecting business," says Guy Marson, managing director of Mailtrack, a £3.5m-turnover e-mail marketing provider with 40 staff at offices near Blackfriars.

"He can have only a small effect on taxes and red tape, but central government has to be at the centre of any significant changes to the business environment."

Even so, many firms welcome Johnson's pledge to adopt a more small-business friendly approach. Johnson has said he plans to investigate ways in which small firms can be granted a given proportion of the £5bn the Greater London Authority spends annually on goods and services.

And business organisations have high hopes that Johnson will inaugurate a new era of public-private co-operation. Says Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the 3,000-member London Chamber of Commerce:

"Congestion charging, under-investment in public transport, unnecessary regulation and skills shortages continue to blight the lives of some of the capital's small, yet most vibrant and diverse businesses, and we want to see the new Mayor taking them seriously."

Richard Morse, chairman of the London Policy Unit at the Federation of Small Businesses, has warned Johnson that the current economic uncertainty makes it essential that London's business communities are given "clear signs" that he intends "to support small business, to encourage their growth and to create a climate which lets entrepreneurship flourish."

The FSB has sent Johnson a shopping list of 10 policies it wants him to implement during his first 100 days. They include drafting amendments to the London Plan to increase the provision of affordable commercial premises, increasing small business representation on the London Skills and Employment Board, and assisting banks to increase to 90 per cent the level underwritten by the Small Business Loan Guarantee Fund.

London's huge finance sector will be looking to Johnson to find ways to cushion the shock of the credit crunch. "I would like to see policies designed to make it easier to employ people, encourage enterpreneurialism in the capital and lower the administrative and tax overheads," says Nick Williams-Howes, chief executive of £50m-turnover Smartflow Finance, which provides payroll funding to SMEs from its offices in south west London.

Transport and congestion is another issue much on the minds of company directors. Johnson has said he will abolish the proposed £25 congestion charge on the most polluting gas-guzzling vehicles, a policy which is unlikely to speed the flow of traffic in central London.

But Richard Glasson, chief operating officer at communications agency Gyro International says: "The congestion charge has merely been a tax not only on our business but on our staff as well, which has done nothing to improve our travels around London." Glasson hopes that the pro-cycling Johnson will promote two wheels rather than four.

Meanwhile, Stephen Charles, managing director of £3.5m-turnover Vivreau, which manufactures mains-fed drinking water systems from its Greenford, Middlesex base, has high hopes from Johnson's pledge to ban bottled water at GLA meetings.

"If Boris doesn't just ban bottled water at City Hall, but provides a refreshing but environmentally responsible alternative, such as mains-fed purified water, then it'll be great for my business," he says.

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