“Wouldn’t you rather be out with friends than watching Friends?”

This was a question Mortlake resident Bally Binning asked herself when she returned to London after working in Germany, and struggled to find opportunities to meet new people.

But rather than resigning herself to nights alone on the couch, the 39-year-old decided to help herself and others in a similar position by setting up a social networking website – Events and Friends.

The site gives Londoners with a hectic work schedule a chance to meet future friends or partners at organised events including Spanish-themed evenings, wine tasting sessions and dance classes.

Bally said: “It’s very much groups, and they are kept quite small so they are not too overwhelming.

“People are introduced to other members and each event is themed so there is a topical discussion.”

The idea came to the entrepreneur like a bolt out of the blue when she was having brunch about two years ago, and the site was launched a year later.

She said: “In a matter of a year we have got 270 members.

“One of the things we have certainly seen is we have had people a lot older than we initially thought who have joined.

“It’s been such an experience, and the feedback has been very very positive.”

The majority of members come from the borough, with slightly more women than men joining and the average age being between 30 and 40, but Bally expects this to change.

Bally explained that Events and Friends is not trying to compete with “big players like Facebook” or dating agencies, but is giving people an opportunity simply to find a squash partner or experience romance the old fashioned way – by meeting face to face.