Web agencies have reached maturity and financial stability, according to a survey by trade title New Media Age.

The combined turnover of the top 100 web agencies is now around £456.5m, of which 9% report an individual turnover of more than £9m.

Independents are gradually being squeezed out of the market by the big global networks, which account for 50% of the top 100 UK web agencies. But thankfully the top two agencies are both independents, for the time being at least.

AKQA sits at the top of the pile with an annual turnover of £21m, I-level comes in second with £19.9m, while the combined force of PrimeCom-owned Pres.co/Foresight (which merged recently) puts it at number three, with £17.42m.

The rest of the top 10 comprises Hyperlink (£16m, independent), Tribal DDB UK (£14m, DDB Worldwide), Modem Media (£13.2m, True North), Oyster Partners (£12.6m, OmniCom), Zinc (£10m, Havas), Oasis Communications (£9m, independent) and Ehsrealtime (£8.9m, Havas).

Elen Lewis, features editor at New Media Age, said: "Over the last two years, the industry has come of age and, very importantly, it has lost the cowboy image which it had in its early days.

"The companies represented are taken seriously by the wider media and business community, and the involvement of the large UK and US agency networks signals how important new media has become in the overall mix."