It follows the decision last week to end a deal with News International which allowed its newspapers to call itself the "Official Newspaper of Team 2012" after the company was implicated in the phone-hacking scandal involving the News of the World. 

Deloitte's support was launched when they hosted the first in a series of events around the UK introducing the Our Team 2012 programme to small and medium sized companies (SMEs).

Among the speakers at the event in London were Paul Deighton, the chief executive of London 2012, and Team 2012 athletes Conrad Williams and Craig McCann, a 400 metres runner and Paralympic fencer respectively. 

Team 2012, presented by Visa, has created a programme for small and medium sized companies (SMEs) called Our Team 2012 and Deloitte is perfectly positioned to highlight opportunities to firms around the UK, it is claimed.

Businesses attending the event heard about progress being made in the organisation of the Games, along with the findings of Deloitte's latest research into the preparedness of UK businesses for the impact of London 2012.

The research discovered that whilst 95 per cent of UK companies intend to assess the opportunities and challenges to their business arising from London 2012, 53 per cent have yet to start this process.

"Our Team 2012 is another example of how investing in British athletes' preparations for the London Games is bringing opportunities to companies throughout the country," said Deighton.

"Our aim is to empower small and medium sized companies to play an important role in ensuring our athletes are best prepared by helping Team 2012 reach its target of up to £25 million ($41 million) and in so doing, also benefit their own businesses."

Team 2012 is a joint venture officially launched last September between National Lottery provider UK Sport, the British Olympic Association, Paralympics GB and London 2012, helping support athletes selected for next year's Games.

Set a fundraising target of £25 million ($41 million) it has so far reached £15.6 million ($25.4 million) from the private sector.

"London 2012 will be a Games for the entire nation," said Annabel Pritchard, Deloitte's London 2012 Sponsorship Director.

"Through Our Team 2012 we hope to help highlight to businesses across the UK the opportunity to play an integral role in preparing next summer's Olympic and Paralympic heroes.

"Our support for London 2012 means we are already making a significant impact in helping to organise the Games themselves, but it goes deeper than that for us – we believe we also have a significant role to play in taking the Games message out to British business."

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