UK Corporates Hold an Average £1.12bn in Cash, as Four in Five Say They are Missing Out on Potential Income

Published: October 13, 2026

A new report from advanced FX and cash management solutions provider, MillTech, reveals that corporates hold an average of £1.12 billion in cash for operational and investment purposes, with almost a quarter (24%) holding more than £1 billion.

MillTech’s first 2026 UK Cash Management Report, which surveyed 125 senior finance decision-makers at UK corporates, found that firms formally review where their excess cash is held or invested an average of 63 times a year, more than once a week.

Despite this, 82% believe they are missing out on potential income by not optimising excess cash and four in five are concerned they may not be achieving the best available returns on their excess cash, while more than three-quarters (78%) believe better returns are achievable.

The findings also suggest that operational barriers are preventing treasury teams from making their money work harder. Corporates cited account opening for money market funds (38%), a lack of visibility across accounts (35%) and limited time or internal resources (33%) as the most common obstacles to optimising returns.

Onboarding is also a key bottleneck. It takes corporates an average of 3.2 months to onboard a new cash management provider or money market fund. Lengthy compliance and due diligence processes are cited as a barrier by 46% of firms, while 45% point to legal documentation requirements.

As a result, 98% of corporates say onboarding complexity discourages them from adding new cash management providers. At the same time, 98% say they would be likely to add additional cash investment partners if onboarding were faster and simpler.

Other key findings include:

• Corporates spread cash across a broad range of instruments - Average allocations are closely grouped across money market funds (24%), repos (24%), bonds (24%), Treasury bills and government securities (24%) and bank deposits or uninvested cash (23%). More than nine in ten report holding cash across each of these major categories.

• Automation is widespread - Nine in ten firms automate at least part of their cash management and liquidity processes, including 34% that describe them as fully automated.

• AI tops the technology agenda - 42% believe AI-driven liquidity optimisation will have the biggest impact on cash management over the next five years, followed by real-time data and analytics (37%) and automation platforms (34%).

• Money market fund use is set to rise - 93% expect their organisation’s use of money market funds to increase over the next two years, including 31% expecting a significant increase.

Neil Gallacher, Co-Head of Cash Management Solutions at MillTech said: “Where cash sits has never been more pertinent. Inflation, interest rates and geopolitical disruption have pushed questions around the returns cash generates and how quickly it can be moved higher up the CFO agenda. With corporates holding significant sums, optimising excess cash has become an essential part of protecting value and improving financial performance.”

Matt Shapcott, Co-Head of Cash Management Solutions at MillTech said: “While corporates are reviewing their cash positions regularly, execution is still falling short. The bigger the treasury operation, the harder it becomes to move quickly across multiple accounts, entities and providers. What firms need is technology that enables faster onboarding, better visibility and more connected processes, so they can effectively turn cash oversight into action.”