UK companies have been stepping up their efforts to trim working capital and boost cash flow, a new survey has found, although in spite of some improvements, most businesses remain pessimistic about the likelihood of squeezing any more cash from their businesses in the near term.

According to KPMG’s annual cash survey of UK businesses, 50 per cent of respondents have now implemented a working capital improvement programme, while only 2 per cent of last year’s respondents had implemented such a programme.