The survey of a cross-section of 500 UK businesses showed that at any time UK firms are owed an average of 53,400.

It coincides with the introduction of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act, which came into full force on Wednesday (7 August).

The act allows businesses to charge interest of up to 4% above the Bank of England base rate on late payments, a privilege that had only previously been available to firms with less than 50 staff.