Scottish Firms Outpace UK Average in Payment Practices, but Wide Disparities Persist

The Numbers

• Companies Analysed: 291
• Average PaymentCheck Score (Scotland): 64.9/100
• Average PaymentCheck Score (UK): 50.0/100
• Scotland's lead over the UK average: 14.9 points
• Top PaymentCheck Score: 100/100 (achieved by 3 companies)
• Lowest PaymentCheck Score: 5.6/100

What Stands Out

While Scotland's average payment score of 64.9 far exceeds the UK average of 50, a significant gulf exists between the best and worst payers, indicating inconsistent payment cultures across the region. The fact that three companies achieved perfect scores demonstrates that excellent payment practices are achievable.

Best Payers

These companies demonstrated exceptional payment behaviour, achieving near-perfect PaymentCheck scores:

1. FIRST SENTIER INVESTORS INTERNATIONAL IM LIMITED - 100/100
2. SMS METER ASSETS LIMITED - 100/100
3. D.P.K. FOODS LTD. - 100/100
4. KILTEARN PARTNERS LLP - 99.63/100
5. ROCKROSE UKCS15 LIMITED - 99.13/100

Worst Payers

These companies exhibited considerable room for improvement in their payment practices:

1. INSPIRE CATERING SCOTLAND LLP - 5.6/100
2. DOBBIES GARDEN CENTRES LIMITED - 5.73/100
3. PLEXUS CORP (UK) LIMITED - 13.9/100
4. IGNIS INVESTMENT SERVICES LIMITED - 14.4/100
5. GUALA CLOSURES UCP LIMITED - 21.2/100

Sector Breakdown

Sector data is thin and unrepresentative, with most sectors represented by only one company. Financial Services, with 18 companies averaging 84.6, offers the most meaningful insight, indicating a relatively strong payment culture within that sector compared to the overall Scottish average.

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Despite Scotland's overall stronger payment performance (64.9) than the UK average (50), the difference between the highest (100) and lowest (5.6) scores suggests inconsistent adherence to prompt payment principles across individual Scottish businesses.