Findings from R3’s latest ‘zombie companies’ research
Findings from R3’s latest ‘zombie companies’ survey (August 2014), show that the number of companies just paying the interest on their debts has increased from 103,000 in November 2013 to 154,000 in August 2014.
This is the highest number of companies in this position in eighteen months. R3 members suspect that this increase in numbers is due to lack of access to finance, along with problems of late-payment and over-trading which are often associated with economic recovery.
Other key findings:
135,000 companies are currently negotiating payment terms with their creditors, a significant increase from 74,000 in February 2013.
100,000 companies say they would not be able to repay their debts if there was a small rise in interest rates and 64,000 say they already struggle to pay their debts when they fall due.
