Thirty-one FTSE 100 firms have cut, cancelled, suspended or deferred their dividend for the first half of this year, costing investors £13.8bn.

The research, done by investment platform AJ Bell and published on 18 August, comes as the half-year results season comes to an end and investors can consider the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown. Companies have reduced payouts to shareholders to ensure they have enough cash to deal with the effects of the pandemic.