Companies are speeding up the time it takes to settle debts and now pay their bills in an average of 61 days.

Credit information group Experian, which compiled the figures, said the results were the first sign new laws allowing small companies to claim interest on late payments were beginning to pay off.

The analysis of the records of 150,000 companies found the average payment period had fallen by 1.25 days to 60.75 days during the six months since May.

Steve Kilmister, managing director of Experian's business information division, said: "This is a very encouraging development although it is too early to say whether it is a real trend."

Firms in the oil sector were the slowest at settling debts, taking an average of 68 days to pay up, although that was an improvement on the 70 days it had taken them earlier in the year.

Electricity companies took almost 67 days and pharmaceuticals nearly 65 days while those in the beer, wines and spirits sector waited 64 days to pay up.

When taking the size of a company into account, the slowest of all were large vehicle and equipment rental companies at 85 days.

Companies in agriculture, fishery and forestry were the best to work for, settling debts in just over 51 days.

The fall in the average payment figure comes two years after the Government introduced legislation giving smaller companies the right to claim interest from larger firms and those in the public sector.

That was extended in November to allow small enterprises to claim from similar sized companies - a move Mr Kilmister believes will help speed up invoice payments.

He added: "There has been little evidence that companies were willing to exercise their rights against larger customers because of the fear of losing future business.

"However, I would now expect to see more companies taking action against small business, where the nature of the relationship is likely to be more equal."

He said many companies had no justification for taking so long to settle debts: "The problems that late payment causes suppliers should not be underestimated.

"Late payment can, and frequently does, lead to business failure and job losses."