The invoice-discounting company surveyed 1,000 businesses in the UK and Germany and found that current conditions are making it "impossible" to stretch payment terms.

It said that some 88% of UK businesses have identified that key suppliers are unable to sustain further lengthening of payment periods.

The findings raise "critical concerns" for supply chains where essential suppliers are hard to replace.

Phillip Kerle, Demica chief executive, said: "Scarcity of traditional credit has become a real problem in supply chain management this year.

"We should recognise that more than half of companies believe that payment terms can be stretched no further. So the problem has definitely reached a critical point."

However the report said that there may be some relief in the future, as banks are developing alternative financing products under Supply Chain Finance (SCF).

This is a means of substituting for lower credit availability, according to the report.

It said: "SCF structures not only allow large corporations to extend their credit terms with suppliers, but also to use the credit quality of receivables owed to allow their banking partner to finance their suppliers' outstanding invoices at a favourable rate."