Late payments hit £23bn
Analysis by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that almost four in 10 small businesses that made successful finance applications in Q4 2019 used the money to manage their day-to-day spending. Some 23% used the money to update equipment, 16% used finance to expand their business and 2% spent the money on recruitment. The FSB report also highlights the impact of late payments, which forces 50,000 small companies to close every year, with Bacs data showing that SMEs were owed £23.4bn in overdue bills last year, an increase of £10.4bn on 2018. Mike Cherry, chairman of the FSB, has urged ministers to "make ending the UK's late payment crisis a top priority." He added: “We fought hard for ... late-payment reforms under the last administration. Frustratingly, it was put on ice due to the general election. We'll be working closely with the new small business commissioner to resurrect it."