Firms take twice as long to pay bills

BUSINESSES are doubling the time it takes to pay their bills as the recession bites. A report from Creditsafe, the business and credit information experts, finds the average number of creditor days, those taken to clear invoices, has effectively doubled from 9.76 in 2006 to 18.98 in 2008.

Creditsafe Ireland managing director Billy Spence said this represents a dangerous threat to the liquidity of creditor businesses in Ireland, already facing far tougher conditions with bank lending greatly restricted.

“The impact of the financial crisis is clearly being felt across businesses in all sectors, with companies holding onto money in an effort to maintain their own liquidity,” he added.