An exhaustive study of the co-catalytic activity of phosphates on titanium and titanium/hafnium based catalytic systems in poly(butylene terephthalate) synthesis was conducted in order to investigate any improvement in the process and/or in the properties of the final polymer with respect to the industrially used titanium based catalyst. Small scale polymerisation and subsequent scale up in higher capacity reactors showed a strong co-catalytic effect of phosphates. A screening on model compounds showed NaH2PO4 to be the most active co-catalyst. The co-catalysts had a stronger effect on titanium with respect to hafnium. Decreases in polymerisation time and tetrahydrofuran formation were observed, which in turn can improve the productivity of the whole process. Moreover, the use of phosphate improved the thermal stability of the final polymers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.