Tahina Akther, barrister and co-founder at Wildcat Law, commented:
“We are increasingly being approached about breaches of contract and interpretation of break clauses in contracts, which is a clear sign that many companies are feeling the strain.
“We have also seen the number of legal challenges regarding so called penalty clauses increasing in an attempt to save money.
“The number of legal challenges is often a good indication for how businesses are faring as companies that are feeling the strain often need to resort to litigation to protect their income or reduce their expenditure.
“In fair financial climes, companies have the ability to settle bills on time or to see out contracts.
“Dither and delay is often a sign of a lack of ability to pay. Unfortunately, this appears to be the experience of our corporate clients.”