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Creative Payment Practices Report 2023

•By PaymentCheck•Reports

UK Creative Sector Payment Practices: Performance Varies Widely in 2023

The Numbers

  • Companies analysed: 42
  • Average PaymentCheck Score: 67.2/100
  • UK average PaymentCheck Score: 50.0/100 (Creative sector average is 17.2 points higher)
  • East Midlands average: 75.5/100 (7 companies)
  • South West average: 72.8/100 (5 companies)
  • South East average: 68.1/100 (1 company)
  • London average: 67.5/100 (20 companies)
  • East of England average: 64.5/100 (4 companies)

What Stands Out

While the creative sector as a whole demonstrates better payment performance than the UK average, a closer look reveals significant internal disparities. The spread between the best and worst performers – a whopping 77.36 points difference on the PaymentCheck Score – underscores that a high-level average doesn't guarantee fair payment for everyone operating within the industry. These disparities are a cause for concern.

Best Payers

  1. THAT LOT CREATIVES LIMITED - 99.6/100
  2. BLACKHAWK NETWORK EMEA LIMITED - 94/100
  3. SMITHS NEWS TRADING LIMITED - 92.2/100
  4. UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE - 91.7/100
  5. VERSUS ARTHRITIS - 89.7/100

Worst Payers

  1. DIESEL LONDON LIMITED - 22.3/100
  2. VOW EUROPE LIMITED - 28.75/100
  3. W & J LINNEY LIMITED - 32.67/100
  4. LITTLE, BROWN BOOK GROUP LIMITED - 41.85/100
  5. PMS INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC - 48.59/100

Regional Patterns

The East Midlands leads the way with an average PaymentCheck Score of 75.5 based on 7 companies, while London, home to nearly half the sampled companies (20), sits almost at the overall creative sector average with 67.5. With only one company sampled, the South East result is basically meaningless, but there's no question more data would offer a lot of important insights here.

One-line takeaway: Despite the creative sector's average PaymentCheck Score of 67.2 outperforming the UK average by 17.2 points, some companies like Diesel London are still scoring as low as 22.3, highlighting inconsistencies within the sector. If you're struggling with late payments, you can use a late payment calculator to understand your rights.