British firms owed money by troubled Dubai developer Nakheel will be paid before the summer, according to a source close to the debt restructuring process at the state-linked developer

He confirmed that Nakheel was in the final stages of assessing the amount of work consultants and contractors had done on its schemes, with the figure owed running into the hundreds of million of pounds.

He said: “The vast majority of the hard work has been done. I would imagine that people will be paid in between three and seven weeks’ time. Certainly it would be in everyone’s interest to have things wrapped up before Dubai slows down for summer in July.”

Nakheel announced this week that trade creditors would be paid 40% cash and 60% in bonds.