The average amount of time it takes Build UK members to pay their suppliers has fallen to 36 days, down from 45 days 18 months ago.
That’s according to the latest payment results submitted to Build UK by its members. Over a third of companies have improved their payment performance by 15 days or more, with contractor members now paying 91% of their invoices within 60 days, up from 80%.
While some major clients like British Land and Landsec lead the way (taking an average of 13 and 18 days to pay invoices respectively), the fastest-paying major contractors are Vinci and Mace, each taking an average of 26 days to pay. They are followed by Osborne and Willmott Dixon on 30 days, and John Sisk & Son, Aecom, Wates, and Morgan Sindall on 32 days.
Still lagging towards the bottom of the table are Engie on 55 days, Multiplex on 49 days and Seddon on 48 days. Specialist demolition contractor Brown and Mason is bottom of the list on 84 days.
Build UK has been benchmarking its members’ payment performance since July 2018, in line with the target set out in the government’s Construction Sector Deal. It also continues to provide information on the payment performance of central government departments, with 13 of the 16 departments paying over 95% of their invoices within 30 days.
Build UK deputy chief executive Jo Fautley said: “We have seen consistent improvement from our members since Build UK began benchmarking their payment performance in 2018. Contractor members in particular have taken the opportunity to change the industry’s approach to late payment, recognising the importance of transparency to drive good practice. There is still work to be done but these latest results show that we are definitely heading in the right direction.”
Build UK top 10 payers (in terms of average time taken to pay invoices)
Source: Build UK
