Around £8.75 billion of supplier invoices were paid late by big UK companies in the six months until December 2025, new research reveals.
Large firms are required to publicly report their payment performance and analysis of the latest figures by Good Business Pays shows there’s “a persistent problem of late payment, with hundreds of large businesses continuing to take extended periods to pay suppliers”.
Of the £8.75 billion not paid on time, over £5 billion was related to invoices where companies reported no dispute.
There are several serial late payers that have appeared on Good Business Pays’ “late and slow payer watchlist” several times.
Among them is Travis Perkins Trading Company, which recently notified suppliers of extended payment terms from 30 to 60 days.
It paid more than £791 million in undisputed invoices late, with 58% of bills not settled on time. The firm has appeared on the watchlist four times since records began in 2023.
Baxi Heating has paid 96% of invoices worth £101 million late, and Red Bull reports paying 85% of invoices late, with £292m of undisputed invoices settled beyond the due date.
Companies which have reported an average time to pay suppliers of more than 80 days are seen as slow payers, and 29 companies report taking 100 days or more on average to pay, an increase from 27 in February 2025.
The slowest payer is onshore wind specialists Vestas Celtic Wind Technology which averages 135 days.
Budweiser and Stella Artois manufacturer AB InBev UK reported taking 116 days to settle invoices, and Tata Steel UK takes an average 105 days.
There is some positive news with the number of companies reporting average payment times of more than 50 days and paying over half of their invoices late falling from 263 in February 2025 to 223 companies in February.
Terry Corby, CEO of Good Business Pays, said:
“While the overall number of late and slow payers has fallen compared with last year, the scale of late payment remains severe, with companies reporting more than £8.75 billion of invoices paid late in just six months. Imagine that kind of money flowing into the economy instead of being stuck. A core group of large companies continues to demonstrate persistently poor payment behaviour, suggesting that for many suppliers the late payment crisis is entrenched rather than resolved.
“The reduction in the number of companies meeting our late and slow payer definitions is a welcome sign of progress and reflects improvements in reporting compliance and transparency.
“However, the data also shows that 83 companies are still taking more than 80 days on average to pay suppliers, while 29 companies now report average payment times of 100 days or more. At the same time, 122 companies continue to pay at least 70% of their invoices late, underlining the extent to which late payment remains normalised among a significant minority of large businesses.
“Greater enforcement by the Department for Business and Trade has increased visibility of payment practices, but transparency alone is not enough. Until persistent late and slow payers face meaningful accountability and consequences, many suppliers will continue to bear the financial strain of poor payment culture within the UK’s largest companies.”
Figures from the Small Business Commissioner, who helps small firms tackle overdue invoices, show 14,000 businesses close each year as a result of late payments, equivalent to 38 firms a day.
The government consulted last year on new measures to tackle late payment, including increasing the enforcement powers of the Commissioner. Currently holding the role is entrepreneur Emma Jones, who has a monthly column on SMEWeb.
The government has yet to respond to the consultation but a response is expected soon.