Medium-sized companies have biggest cash flow headache
Article Date: Dec 10 2007Nearly half of financial directors (FDs) are worried about their company’s cash flow, according to a survey from asset based lender Venture Structured Finance. The survey also suggests that these worries are most prevalent in medium-sized as opposed to smaller companies.
Some 88 per cent of FDs managing an annual turnover of £100 million to £120 million admitted to cash flow anxieties, compared to 56 per cent in companies with turnover between £50 million and £100 million. In smaller companies (£10 million to £50 million), only 43 per cent of FDs were troubled by the issue.
While an overall 48 per cent of FDs were worried about cashflow, 19 per cent were concerned about securing finance for future growth, with 26 per cent stating that when dealing with financiers, the actual level of funding their companies had received was less than initially agreed.
From a regional perspective, concern about debt was most pressing in the North East and Yorkshire, where 23 per cent of companies were worried about their level of gearing compared with a UK average of just six per cent.
The survey was conducted by telephone among 100 FDs of small and medium-sized enterprises.
