UK Data Sector Crushes National Average on Payment Performance

The Numbers

• Companies analyzed: 57
• Average PaymentCheck Score for the sector: 74.9/100
• UK national average: 50.0/100
• Data sector advantage over national average: 24.9 points

What Stands Out

The UK's data sector significantly outperforms the national average in payment performance, suggesting a strong culture of timely payments or, at least, systems designed to facilitate them. The fact that 57 companies were analysed shows this isn't just an outlier. However, the spread of scores indicates there are still significant disparities within the sector.

Best Payers

1. SWIFT STRATEGIES LIMITED - 100/100
2. DUN & BRADSTREET LIMITED - 98.2/100
3. GB GROUP PLC - 97.2/100
4. ALFA FINANCIAL SOFTWARE LIMITED - 94.6/100
5. M GROUP ENERGY (METERING) LIMITED - 94.2/100

Worst Payers

1. TAYLOR HOBSON LIMITED - 26.2/100
2. OGURY LIMITED - 32.7/100
3. PARK PLACE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED - 38.7/100
4. THE BABRAHAM INSTITUTE - 49.4/100
5. DEEPMIND TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED - 49.4/100

Regional Patterns

While only one company featured in the North West and another in Scotland, with averages of 97.2 and 92.2 respectively, their presence at the top suggests excellent payment practice or the benefit of a small sample size. The South West is a reasonable third with an average of 82.1 across four companies. The fact that 7 companies in the East of England score an average of 79.9 is reasonable, but suggests that there might be less efficient payment practice at scale.

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Despite an overall sector average well above the national benchmark, the considerable gulf between SWIFT STRATEGIES' perfect 100/100 and TAYLOR HOBSON's poor 26.2/100 exposes the wide variation in payment ethics across the sector.

2025: The Story

The 2025 payment landscape for data-related companies saw a slight dip in average performance, falling 0.4 points to 74.9/100 among the 57 assessed firms. Despite this modest overall decline, individual company trajectories tell a more dynamic story. ARK DATA CENTRES LIMITED led the charge for improvement, skyrocketing by an impressive 22.4 points to achieve a strong 88.4/100. Similarly, COMPARE THE MARKET LIMITED made a significant leap, improving by 8.1 points to an excellent 91.7/100.

Conversely, some prominent names faced significant challenges; DEEPMIND TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED experienced a sharp decline of 9.1 points, bringing its score down to a concerning 49.4/100. Interestingly, the data centre sub-sector showed particular movement, with ARK's significant rise complemented by the solid debut of VANTAGE DATA CENTERS UK LIMITED at 79.8/100. Suppliers should monitor individual company trajectories closely, as the overall stability masks significant volatility in payment performance across the sector.