9th January 2008
Late payments to SMEs total £18.6 billion
The amount of money owed to smaller businesses has jumped by more than £2 billion in a year, according to an annual survey.
The research by bank transfer organisation Bacs found a decline in the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) reporting problems, from 59% in 2006 to 51% last year.
However, the total amount of money owed had increased by £2.6 billion, to a total of £18.6 billion. This equates to an average of £30,000 owed at any one time to each SME.
Respondents in London reported the highest level of problems, with 65% saying that they had to chase debts. The capital's SMEs had an average of £51,000 owed to them at any one time.
In contrast, just 42% of those in the North East said they had had to chase debts.
"Our latest business figures paint an interesting picture about the culture of late payments across Great Britain – with some surprising regional pockets of success, and failure," commented Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs.
"But the most striking thing – at a national level – is that the scale of late payments has grown in value yet again, despite companies investing a significant amount of time and money to secure the demise of the problem."
The research by bank transfer organisation Bacs found a decline in the number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) reporting problems, from 59% in 2006 to 51% last year.
However, the total amount of money owed had increased by £2.6 billion, to a total of £18.6 billion. This equates to an average of £30,000 owed at any one time to each SME.
Respondents in London reported the highest level of problems, with 65% saying that they had to chase debts. The capital's SMEs had an average of £51,000 owed to them at any one time.
In contrast, just 42% of those in the North East said they had had to chase debts.
"Our latest business figures paint an interesting picture about the culture of late payments across Great Britain – with some surprising regional pockets of success, and failure," commented Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs.
"But the most striking thing – at a national level – is that the scale of late payments has grown in value yet again, despite companies investing a significant amount of time and money to secure the demise of the problem."
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