Official Statistics: Large businesses’ payment practices and performance: Statistics (2025)

In recent years, the Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 have provided a structured lens into how large UK businesses discharge their obligations to suppliers. The annual statistics distilled from these regulatory reports offer an evidence-based view of payment practices, benchmarking performance across industries and informing policy discussions, supply chain finance strategies, and procurement governance.

Key metrics and what they reveal

– Number of reports submitted by businesses
– The regime requires large organisations to publish annual statements detailing their payment practices and performance. Across the latest reporting cycle, the total number of submissions reflects the breadth of engagement by firms meeting the threshold for size and activity. This metric is a proxy for transparency and regulatory compliance within the business community.
– Observers commonly track trends over time to assess how reporting participation evolves, influenced by regulatory expectations, sectoral dynamics, and the maturity of internal reporting systems.

– Average time to pay
– The average time to payment aggregates the days taken to settle invoices from the date of receipt. This figure is a central indicator of the efficiency and reliability of supplier payments.
– A lower average time to pay generally signals stronger liquidity management and a commitment to prompt settlement. Conversely, longer times can reflect internal approval processes, organisational priorities, or supplier payment terms that extend beyond standard periods.
– When interpreting the data, it is important to consider the mix of payment terms across industries, the prevalence of early payment discount practices, and any changes in late-payment penalties or supplier finance arrangements that might influence reported averages.

– Proportion of invoices paid late (by number and by value)
– Late payments are captured as a share of invoices paid after the agreed terms. This measure is reported both as a count (number of late invoices) and as a value (the monetary amount of late invoices).
– The “by number” metric focuses on supplier experience and the frequency of delayed settlements, which can be more sensitive to short-term administrative bottlenecks or episodic exceptions.
– The “by value” metric highlights the financial impact of late payments on suppliers, including the potential effects on cash flow, credit terms, and supplier viability, especially for smaller participants within the supply chain.
– Discrepancies between the number and value measures can occur if late payments are concentrated in a small number of large invoices or spread across many smaller invoices.

Interpreting the data in context

– Industry and sector variation: Payment practices tend to differ across sectors due to differing working capital norms, buyer-supplier power dynamics, and procurement structures. High-volume, low-margin industries may show different late-payment profiles compared with capital-intensive sectors.
– UK-wide economic context: Macroeconomic conditions, including interest rates and access to finance, can influence both the speed of payments and the willingness to participate in early payment programmes.
– Policy and reporting evolution: The publication of annual statistics reflects ongoing regulatory refinement and increasing expectations around transparency. Organisations may invest in improved accounts payable processes, metrics dashboards, and supplier engagement programmes in response to benchmarking insights.

What stakeholders can learn

– For policy makers: The aggregated data illuminate trends in payment culture among large UK businesses, informing discussions on late-payment legislation, supplier resilience, and the effectiveness of reporting requirements.
– For procurement leaders: Benchmarking against contemporaneous statistics supports target setting for payment performance, identifies opportunities to negotiate better terms, and strengthens supplier relationships.
– For suppliers: Awareness of average payment practices and late-payment risk informs cash flow planning, credit terms negotiations, and engagement with supply chain finance options.

Reading the annual report

– The published statistics typically present the headline figures for the reporting cohort, often with breakdowns by year, sector, and business size within the qualifying criteria.
– Look for caveats accompanying the data, such as the composition of the reporting pool, any gaps in submission, and the methodology used to calculate averages and late-payment shares.
– Comparative analysis across consecutive years can reveal improvements or emerging challenges in payment practices, guiding constructive conversations with buyers.

In summary, the annual statistics drawn from The Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 offer a structured, comparable view of how large UK businesses pay their suppliers. By focusing on participation in reporting, the average time to pay, and the incidence of late payments by both number and value, the data provide a clear lens on payment discipline, supplier resilience, and the broader health of the UK business ecosystem.

May 13, 2026 at 08:49AM
官方统计：大型企业的支付做法与绩效统计（2025）
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/large-businesses-payment-practices-and-performance-statistics-2025
annual statistics describing how large UK businesses pay their suppliers, using data reported under The Payment Practices and Performance Reporting Regulations 2017.

Includes statistics on the number of reports submitted by businesses, the average time to pay, and the proportion of invoices paid late (by number and value).

阅读更多中文内容： UK Business Payment Practices 2017–2023: Insights from the Payment Practices and Performance Reporting Regulations