Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that private firms in the United Kingdom rely heavily on debt financing, have leverage ratios significantly higher than their public counterparts, and their access to external sources of capital remains limited. We extend these findings by examining the implications of such differences in capital structure on financial distress and its repercussions on future operating performance. In spite the higher levels of leverage among private firms, we find a higher incidence of financial distress among public firms; while financial distress, however, among such firms is predominantly due to their sluggish operating performance, the main cause of distress among for private firms is their high level of leverage. We also find that while both public and private firms maintain very similar levels of sales growth in industry adjusted terms, the profitability of the former group is markedly lower in comparison to private firms, during the time period immediately following the appearance of financial distress.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
