Business Debt Insight Offered By Debt Counsellors' Survey

(PRWeb) December 11, 2006 -- The Debt Counsellors Annual UK Debt Survey 2006 has shed light on the nature and causes of business debt in the UK.

The survey, by debt advice experts The Debt Counsellors, polled people seeking help for both personal debt problems and business debt problems.

Of those with business debt problems, 46% were sole traders and 21% had debts from a limited company. The majority (68%) were men.

When asked to stipulate the main cause of their business debt problems, 18% said they had expanded too quickly and the same percentage said costs got out of control. Late-paying customers were blamed by 14% and a lack of customers was the cause in 11% of cases.

Just over 34% of respondents with business debt owed between £20,001 and £50,000, while 25% had business debt over £50,000. Approximately 20% owed between £10,001 and £20,000, 14% owed between £5,000 and £10,000, and around 7% had less than £5,000 of business debt.

The age of respondents with business debt was fairly evenly spread, with 29% between 26 and 35, 25% 36 to 45, 16% 46 to 55, 5% over 55 and 25% under 26.

Over 59% said their business debt had caused them health problems.

John Porter, a senior counsellor with The Debt Counsellors, said: "The survey shows that business debt is a common cause of anxiety and financial strain across all age groups in the UK and it is quite significant that nearly 60% have attributed health problems to their business debt."

Porter adds: "The good news is that there are debt solutions for business debt and, in fact, all kinds of debt problems, and in many cases bankruptcy can be avoided. The best way to find out about these solutions is professional debt counselling."

Free, confidential business debt advice is available from The Debt Counsellors. For more information, visit: http://www.debtcounsellors.co.uk

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