Private investment in the arts and culture reached a record high in 2007-08, climbing 12 per cent in real terms to £686m.

But figures released by the charity Arts & Business showed that investment from business declined 7 per cent in the same period, revealing the effects of the early part of the credit crunch.

The decline in business funding was, however, more than offset by donations from private individuals, which rose 25 per cent to £382m.

They included the gift of £20m from Sammy Ofer, the Romanian-Israeli shipping magnate, to the National Maritime Museum, thought to be the largest single donation to a cultural cause in Britain.

Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts & Business, said on Tuesday that the figures showed the “remarkable achievement of the UK’s fundraisers.

“But in this economic climate the challenges facing cultural organisations are immense and the cultural sector cannot remain immune in a global recession.”

Sebastian Paul, A&B’s marketing and communications director, said the figure of £686m probably represented a peak of private investment in the arts, given the widely expected effects of the recession.

But he said sponsorship had gradually and greatly increased since the organisation’s founding in 1976, when it stood at £600,000.

He quoted figures showing that the cultural and creative industries had contributed £57.3bn to the economy in 2006.

“The signs are that it will continue to be a significant generator of national income in the next few years,” he said.

A survey of 1,500 businesses showed that next year would be the most difficult one for sponsorship, but that investment would pick up properly after 2013, albeit at a slower pace.

Mr Tweedy said that investment could “take a number of years to surpass the £700m mark”.

He also called for the government to maintain its commitment to arts funding. “Public and private money go absolutely hand in hand. [We] will continue to lobby for both.”

Barbara Follett, culture minister, told Tuesday’s briefing she welcomed the figures, and that they would strengthen her case in arguing for arts funding. “Economists at the Treasury like hard information – they don’t go in for soft and woolly arguments,” she said.

Mrs Follett said the arts played a vital role in the wellbeing of the population, and revealed she fought the effects of recession-induced stress by “playing Cat Stevens very loudly and tidying up the house”.