Latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking show the average value of outstanding invoices for businesses in the region is £101,170 – a 6% rise since January. Tony McDonough reports.

Late payers are contributing to a rise in cashflow problems for small and medium-sized businesses in the North West – with SMEs owed an average of more than £100,000.

The latest Business in Britain report from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking show the average value of outstanding invoices for businesses in the region is £101,170.

This is an increase of 6% since the last Business in Britain report in January 2016, with 33% of firms citing late payments as the biggest cause of cashflow problems.

The report also found that 26% of North West firms are currently owed more than £200,000 in outstanding invoices, up marginally from 25% in January.

The issue of late payments is also likely to persist into 2017, with 34% expecting more customers to require deferred payment terms in the next six months.

North West companies owned, on average, £450,027 in assets outright, the study also showed. This is an increase of 8% since the start of the year.

Firms said they were expecting to invest an average of £374,090 into their business over the next six months, up from £314,270 in January, suggesting a majority of companies remain undeterred by recent political and economic shocks.

Richard Evans, area director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance, said: “If businesses are issuing more invoices and investing in more assets, then this is very positive for them and the economy.

“But if companies are having to wait longer to be paid, and are reporting that they expect to face an even longer wait in the future, this slowing of payments could be holding businesses back from releasing critical cash to drive future growth.”