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North East Payment Practices Report 2024

•By PaymentCheck•Reports

North East Firms Outpace UK Average on Payment, But Stark Disparities Persist

The Numbers

  • Companies Analysed: 131
  • Average PaymentCheck Score (North East): 63.3/100
  • Average PaymentCheck Score (UK): 50.0/100
  • Difference: North East is 13.3 points above the UK average
  • Top Payer Score: 99.4/100 (TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN SUNDERLAND LIMITED)
  • Bottom Payer Score: 29.8/100 (TECHNIPFMC UMBILICALS LTD)

What Stands Out

While the North East performs demonstrably better than the UK average, a wide range exists – almost 70 points separate the best and worst payers. This suggests that even within a relatively small geographic area, payment culture varies significantly across individual companies and industries.

Best Payers

These firms demonstrate exemplary payment practices, achieving scores nearing the maximum:

  1. TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN SUNDERLAND LIMITED - 99.4/100: Suggests strong financial management and commitment to ethical supplier relationships within the Sunderland childcare sector.
  2. HAYS TRAVEL LIMITED - 99.13/100: A positive sign for the travel industry in the region, reflecting efficient invoice processing.
  3. EVERFLOW LIMITED - 97.8/100: Performance within the software sector.
  4. SUNDERLAND CARE AND SUPPORT LIMITED - 97.5/100: Another high performer in Sunderland's care sector, reinforcing the trend of timely payments.
  5. STUDENT LOANS COMPANY LIMITED - 96.35/100: Illustrates a prompt payment strategy for at least one prominent public sector organisation.

Worst Payers

These companies have significant room for improvement in their payment practices, lagging far behind the average:

  1. TECHNIPFMC UMBILICALS LTD - 29.8/100: Raises concerns about payment efficiency within this supplier.
  2. WINN SOLICITORS LIMITED - 30.3/100: Suggests potential cash flow challenges, as these scores might also affect the legal support sector.
  3. TECHNIP UK LIMITED - 30.6/100: Implies a systemic issue within the wider Technip group, seen also with TECHNIPFMC.
  4. ROWAN ONSHORE WINDFARMS LIMITED - 33.57/100: Questions the stability of one company within the renewable energy industry.
  5. LONDON AND NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED - 34.05/100: Points to the potential for delays by one company within the UK’s large transport sector.

Sector Breakdown

Sector performance is somewhat underwhelming due to small sample sizes, but the Software sector's high average of 97.8, though based on just one company, suggests that it’s one area of focus. The Care Services sector, with an average of 83.2 across four companies, indicates fairly consistent and positive payment practices within that important industry.

The North East exceeds the UK average by 13.3 points, and yet, the disparity between the best and worst payers, 69.6 points, demonstrates that the data is both good and bad news.

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