£60bn 'wasted' in working capital

The UK's largest firms have about £60 billion tied up in unnecessary working capital, a report claims today.

Companies are wasting vital cash because unproductive working capital is locked away in accounting cycles, with poor inventory and supply-chain management among the other key factors, according to business advisers Deloitte.

The consumer sector is sitting on more than 13bn of excess working capital, while the industrial sector has more than 8bn locked up, the five-year study found.