Businesses withdraw savings
One in three businesses with an annual turnover of £1m or more have withdrawn £2.43bn from their savings to help pay the higher interest rates on their debt, according to research from Investec bank. The average withdrawal made by companies who have done this was £35,270, but some 4 per cent of businesses of this size have taken out £100,000 or more from their deposit accounts to help meet debt payments. Jack Jones of Investec said: “Many companies are receiving paltry returns on their savings, and some have clearly decided to use the money in their deposit accounts to pay the more expensive interest they owe on their debts.”