Amicus Asset Finance Daily New reports Sathnam Sanghera in the Times looking at the impact late payment has on SMEs. Sanghera notes the Federation of Small Businesses analysis which suggests about 50,000 businesses fail every year due to larger firms neglecting to settle bills, while Lloyds Banking Group research suggests that 65% of firms which report their payment practices took more than 30 days to settle invoices and 21% took more than 50 days. Sanghera also points to a Small Business Commissioner report showing that a third of payments to small businesses are late, 20% of small firms have experienced cash flow problems due to late payments, and that the economy would see an annual boost of £2.5bn if bills were settled promptly. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office has written to Government suppliers saying they risk being barred from future public sector work if they fail to pay subcontractors on time.
