Northern Ireland Businesses Outperform UK Average on Payment Practices in 2021

The Numbers

• Companies analysed: 66
• Average PaymentCheck Score (Northern Ireland): 61.8/100
• Average PaymentCheck Score (UK): 50.0/100
• Northern Ireland's average PaymentCheck Score is 11.8 points above the UK average.
• Top Payer (N.I.I.B. GROUP LIMITED): 97.5/100
• Bottom Payer (THOMPSON AERO SEATING LIMITED): 17.8/100

What Stands Out

Northern Ireland's significantly higher average PaymentCheck score suggests a stronger payment culture compared to the UK overall; however, the gap between the best and worst performers is wide, highlighting inconsistencies within the region. The low score of Thompson Aero Seating Limited (17.8/100) is particularly concerning, considering it's far below the Northern Ireland average.

Best Payers

These companies demonstrate excellent payment practices:

1. N.I.I.B. GROUP LIMITED - 97.5/100
2. NORTHERN IRELAND WATER LIMITED - 96.2/100
3. ALLSTATE NORTHERN IRELAND LIMITED - 95.4/100 (reflecting the strong performance of the software sector)
4. POWER NI ENERGY LIMITED - 94.13/100 (aligning with the energy sector's solid performance)
5. CREATION CONSUMER FINANCE LIMITED - 93.63/100 (underscoring the financial sector's strength)

Worst Payers

These companies need to improve their payment practices:

1. THOMPSON AERO SEATING LIMITED - 17.8/100
2. CRANSWICK COUNTRY FOODS (BALLYMENA) - 25.5/100
3. DIAGEO NORTHERN IRELAND LIMITED - 25.6/100
4. DIAGEO GLOBAL SUPPLY IBC LIMITED - 26.9/100 (The Diageo subsidiaries' low scores indicate a pattern)
5. SHORT BROTHERS PLC - 28.9/100

Sector Breakdown

Payment performance varies significantly by sector:

• Environment: 91.3 avg (2 companies)
• Financial Services: 90.6 avg (3 companies)
• Software: 87.5 avg (4 companies)
• Energy: 83.7 avg (5 companies)
• Hardware: 80.3 avg (1 companies)

The Environment sector, although based on only two companies, is the top performer, while Financial Services and Software also show strong payment habits, averaging 90.6 and 87.5, respectively.

If you are experiencing late payments, you can use a late payment calculator to understand potential interest owed.

While Northern Ireland's average of 61.8/100 beats the UK average by 11.8 points, the presence of companies scoring below 30/100 shows that improvement is still needed to achieve consistent prompt payment across all sectors.