Intrum Justitia polled 10,000 business managers across 28 European countries to find that late payments have risen by €10 billion last year. This accounts for 3.1 per cent of annual revenue.
Those hardest hit are said to be small and medium enterprises across the continent.
Lars Wollung, President & CEO of Intrum Justitia said: “Imagine if European companies had those 360 billion euros they now need to write off on a yearly basis, to invest in their businesses!”
Independent broker, Hilton Baird Group highlights that these figures raise questions on the effectiveness of the EU Late Payments Directive 2011.
The act, introduced in March 2013, has been adopted by 27 of the 28 member states including the UK.
On the matter of the at itself Alex Hilton Baird said: “Although it stipulates that credit terms must not exceed 60 days for business-to-business transactions, and 30 days for work carried out on behalf of the public sector, the evidence continues to suggest that it’s having little impact on encouraging payment.”
Hilton Baird Group found in its own research, found that 56 per cent of British businesses wrote off more than 1 per cent of their turnover as uncollectable during 2013.
Also, one in ten firms were found to have written off more than 5 per cent.
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