Payment delays soar as EU's small businesses offer reality check

Stockholm

WHILE investors find courage in positive data out of Europe, there's one development that should give them pause.

A growing number of small businesses in Europe complain they face excessive delays in being paid for their work, with large parts of the sector seeking tougher laws to address the problem.

The 2017 European Payment Report compiled annually by Swedish debt collector Intrum Justitia AB shows that 61 per cent of the 10,4…