Large businesses are responsible for the majority of late payments made to SMEs, research by Zurich has found, suggesting that bigger firms are taking advantage of smaller companies' reliance on their custom.

The report found that 53 per cent of late payments to small businesses were from firms larger than their own, and that SMEs were owed an average of £16,250.

Almost half of the small businesses subject to late payments had to wait up to three months for payment, while 14 per cent typically did not receive payment for up to six months. 

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See also: Avoiding unpaid bills in the construction industry