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London Payment Practices Report 2020

•By PaymentCheck•Reports

London Companies Crushing UK Average on Payments, But Some Laggards Remain

The Numbers

  • Analysis of 1,000 London-based companies.
  • Average PaymentCheck Score: 87.1/100.
  • UK Average PaymentCheck Score: 50.0/100.
  • London average exceeds the UK average by a substantial 37.1 points.
  • Top 5 payers achieved perfect scores of 100/100.
  • Lowest PaymentCheck Score: 71.3/100.

What Stands Out

While London firms are clearly ahead of the national average, the range between the best and worst payers in the city shows there's still room for improvement. The worst payers are still scoring relatively high, indicating a general commitment to somewhat reasonable payment practices.

Best Payers

These companies aced their payment performance, achieving a perfect 100/100:

  1. AON INVESTMENTS LIMITED
  2. AMS ADVANCED MARKETING SERVICES INVESTMENTS LIMITED
  3. IPG DXTRA GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED
  4. TANGENT TRADING LIMITED
  5. BARINGS (U.K.) LIMITED

These firms represent diverse sectors, from investments to marketing, suggesting that excellent payment practice isn't limited to any single industry within London.

Worst Payers

While still above average compared to the rest of the UK, these companies had the lowest PaymentCheck scores within our London sample:

  1. MITIE BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED - 71.3/100
  2. UNITED TRUST BANK LIMITED - 73.2/100
  3. DALKIA FACILITIES LIMITED - 73.2/100
  4. THE LONDON METAL EXCHANGE - 73.2/100
  5. ITOCHU EUROPE PLC - 73.3/100

Even the "worst" performers are scoring respectably, with the lowest score at 71.3. This suggests that while they're not top of the class, they're still demonstrably ahead of the UK average. Suppliers can use a late payment calculator to understand their rights.

Sector Breakdown

Payment performance varies between sectors in London.

  • Travel and Transportation: 91.9 avg (10 companies)
  • Supply Chain: 90.5 avg (2 companies)
  • Marketing and Sales: 90.1 avg (34 companies)
  • Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods: 89.7 avg (8 companies)
  • Energy: 89.5 avg (44 companies)

The Travel and Transportation sector demonstrates the best payment record with an average score of 91.9, while the Energy sector lags slightly behind with 89.5 - but only a marginal difference considering the number of companies analysed.

One-line takeaway: Despite the impressively high average PaymentCheck Score of 87.1 for London companies, even the lowest-scoring sector (Energy) surpasses the overall UK average of 50, highlighting a significant regional difference in payment practices.