The Government has published new official statistics describing large businesses’ payment practices and performance. The statistics show a decrease in payment times.
Looking at the data, first collected in 2018, the time large businesses take to pay their suppliers has decreased and the proportion of invoices paid late by large businesses has been steadily decreasing. In 2025, large businesses paid 15% of invoices late, down from 25% in 2018, a 10 percentage point decrease.
The statistics are based on data reported by businesses under The Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017, which require large UK businesses to report on their payment practices, policies and performance twice-yearly. This information is publicly available on GOV.UK’s Payment practices reporting webpage.
Looking geographically London has consistently had the shortest payment times and among the lowest proportions of invoices paid late, compared with other regions and nations.
Challenges however remain with the manufacturing sector consistently reporting the longest payment times as well as the highest proportions of invoices paid late, compared with other sectors across the UK.
The government has introduced landmark legislation to tackle late payments and support small businesses across the UK. The Commercial Payments (Late Payments) Bill proposes the most significant reforms to payment practices in over 25 years, aiming to ensure businesses are paid on time and to strengthen accountability across supply chains. Every year, late payments cost the economy £11 billion and result in thousands of business closures. For many business owners, the impact is immediate, affecting whether they can pay staff, cover costs, and invest in growth.
Small firms tell me, and our research has shown, that they spend too many precious hours chasing debt. This is limiting capacity to focus on growth, and we want to change that. These figures show that businesses have made a conscious effort to change and improve their payment practices and that should be recognised and celebrated. But the data also shows the need for improvement in key sectors for our economy. I therefore welcome the Commercial Payment Bill and the measures it will take to improve payment performance across the country.
– Emma Jones, Small Business Commissioner
The Small Business Commissioner manages the government’s Fair Payment Code, a tiered system of Awards aimed at driving best practice and improving payment performance. Business on the Code include: HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds bank, Heathrow Airport, AstraZeneca, Amey, Kier, Aviva, AXA, Capita, BEA Systems, Boeing, BT and Welsh Water.
