UK Professional Services Payments: A Mixed Bag in 2025

The Numbers

• Companies analysed: 140
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 74.5/100
• UK average (all sectors): 50.0/100
• Professional Services is 24.5 points above the UK average
• Top score: 100/100 (3 companies)
• Lowest score: 12.7/100
• Regional high (West Midlands, 3 companies): 90.7/100
• Regional low (London, 85 companies): 76.8/100

What Stands Out

While the Professional Services sector performs significantly better than the UK average, the wide range of scores, from 12.7 to 100, suggests a highly uneven playing field. The regional data further highlights inconsistencies, indicating that location and company size are potential factors in payment performance.

Best Payers

1. SLAUGHTER AND MAY SERVICES COMPANY - 100/100
2. GRANT THORNTON AGILE TALENT SOLUTIONS LIMITED - 100/100
3. HSBC GLOBAL SERVICES LIMITED - 100/100
4. FBC (FUTUREBRAND) LIMITED - 99.2/100
5. FCB HEALTH HAMPSHIRE LIMITED - 98.8/100

Worst Payers

1. APLEONA UK LIMITED - 12.7/100
2. KENNEDYS LAW LLP - 21.4/100
3. ADMIRAL LAW LIMITED - 21.5/100
4. ARCUS FM LIMITED - 30.17/100
5. PREMEX SERVICES LIMITED - 30.3/100

Regional Patterns

The West Midlands leads the way with an average PaymentCheck Score of 90.7, based on a small sample size of just three companies. London, with the largest sample size (85 companies), lags behind at 76.8, showing that while it performs better than the UK average, firms there fall behind the national average for professional services and underperforms relative to other regions.

Struggling to get invoices paid? Use this late payment calculator

Takeaway: Despite an average of 74.5/100, the massive 87.3-point difference between the best and worst payers demonstrates that payment practices in UK Professional Services in 2025 are far from consistent.

2025: The Story

2025 presented a nuanced picture for Professional Services payment practices, with the sector's average score declining slightly by 0.4 points to 74.5/100, even as the number of reporting companies decreased to 140. This slight dip masked significant shifts at the individual company level. YEAR9 LTD demonstrated a remarkable turnaround, soaring by 23.6 points to achieve a strong 77.7/100, indicating a substantial improvement in their payment efficiency. In stark contrast, STEWARTS LAW LLP experienced the largest decline, dropping 6.9 points to a concerning 45.5/100, positioning them as a significantly weaker payer in the dataset.

An interesting trend emerged within the legal sector, where several firms showed robust improvements. ASHURST LLP, for example, boosted its score by 12.4 points to 77.9/100, while SWITALSKIS SOLICITORS LIMITED improved by 12.0 points to 79.0/100, suggesting a concerted effort by some legal practices to optimize their payment processes. The arrival of new entrants like HSBC GLOBAL SERVICES LIMITED with a perfect 100.0/100 score, alongside 33 companies leaving the data, further highlights a dynamic environment. Suppliers should pay close attention to the specific payment performance of their individual clients, as overall trends may not reflect individual experiences.