UK Creative Sector Payment Practices: A Mixed Bag in 2025

The Numbers

• Companies analysed: 38
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 72.6/100
• UK average: 50.0/100 (Creative is 22.6 points above)
• Top score: 98/100
• Bottom score: 35.7/100

What Stands Out

While the creative sector's average PaymentCheck score of 72.6 is substantially higher than the overall UK average of 50, the wide range between the best and worst payers – a 62.3-point difference – shows that consistency is still a real problem. It's interesting to see both well-known high street names and smaller, specialist firms in the top and bottom rankings, suggesting that size isn't always a reliable indicator of payment ethics.

Best Payers

1. THAT LOT CREATIVES LIMITED - 98/100
2. HOUSE OF FRASER LIMITED - 96.6/100
3. AMAZON UK SERVICES LTD. - 94.6/100
4. UNIVERSITY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE - 94.3/100
5. PRIMARK STORES LIMITED - 93.2/100

Worst Payers

1. INTEGRITY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP LIMITED - 35.7/100
2. VOW EUROPE LIMITED - 37.3/100
3. W & J LINNEY LIMITED - 40.5/100
4. LITTLE, BROWN BOOK GROUP LIMITED - 40.6/100
5. SKY CP LIMITED - 48.3/100

Regional Patterns

The regional data throws up some potentially misleading results, given the small sample size in some areas. Scotland's average of 82.9 is based on just one company, so it's hardly representative, and the same goes for East of England’s average of 72.1 from 3 companies. While London's score of 73.3 from 20 companies is more reliable, it's only slightly above the sector average, suggesting that being located in a major creative hub doesn't guarantee faster payments.

If you're consistently facing late payments, you can calculate the interest you're owed using a late payment calculator.

Ultimately, while the creative sector as a whole demonstrates better payment practices than the UK average, the stark contrast between THAT LOT CREATIVES LIMITED's near-perfect score of 98 and INTEGRITY COMMUNICATIONS GROUP LIMITED's worrying 35.7 indicates that there’s still significant room for improvement across the board.

2025: The Story

The Creative sector demonstrated a modest but positive shift in 2025, with the average payment score improving by 1.0 points to 72.6/100 across 38 companies. This slight rise, however, belies considerable volatility among individual players. Royal Collection Enterprises Limited significantly boosted its score by 7.4 points, now reaching a robust 87.0/100, signaling a strong commitment to timely payments. In stark contrast, DUNE GROUP LIMITED saw a precipitous drop of 17.3 points, landing at 60.4/100, while MONSOON STORES LTD also declined by 9.0 points to 61.3/100. This divergence within the fashion and retail sub-sector is further illustrated by ACCESSORIZE STORES LTD's strong improvement of 6.8 points to 70.4/100. Meanwhile, new entrants like Amazon UK Services Ltd (94.6/100) immediately set a high bar, alongside lower scorers such as Integrity Communications Group Limited (35.7/100). Suppliers should meticulously monitor these increasingly varied payment behaviors, especially within key retail brands, as reliability becomes less predictable.