Scottish Firms Outpace UK Average in Payment Practices, But Significant Disparities Remain

The Numbers

• 271 Scottish companies analysed.
• Average PaymentCheck Score: 69.0/100.
• UK Average: 50.0/100.
• Scotland's average is 19.0 points higher than the UK average.
• Top PaymentCheck Score: 100/100 (multiple companies).
• Lowest PaymentCheck Score: 19.7/100.
• Transportation Infrastructure sector average: 98.1/100 (1 company).

What Stands Out

While Scotland's average payment performance beats the UK's by a significant margin, the spread between top and bottom payers suggests a considerable variation in financial responsibility across the region. The limited number of companies in top performing sectors like Transportation Infrastructure and Data makes it difficult to extrapolate broader conclusions about sector-wide payment trends.

Best Payers

Five companies achieved a perfect PaymentCheck score of 100/100, demonstrating exemplary payment practices. These top performers span diverse sectors, indicating strong financial discipline across different industries:

1. SMS METER ASSETS LIMITED - 100/100
2. INNER DOWSING WIND FARM LIMITED - 100/100
3. FIRST SENTIER INVESTORS (UK) IM LIMITED - 100/100
4. KILTEARN PARTNERS LLP - 100/100
5. ABRDN PLC - 100/100

Worst Payers

These companies significantly lag behind the average, with PaymentCheck scores well below 30/100, suggesting potential issues with timely payments to suppliers. These challenges span across the retail, industrial and food sectors.

1. DOBBIES GARDEN CENTRES LIMITED - 19.7/100
2. PROSERV UK LIMITED - 22.4/100
3. KCA DEUTAG TECHNICAL SUPPORT LIMITED - 26.1/100
4. MCCORMICK (UK) LIMITED - 27.03/100
5. BAXTERS FOOD GROUP LIMITED - 27.45/100

Sector Breakdown

The sector breakdown highlights a mixed bag, but with limited sample sizes in some sectors, broader conclusions are difficult to draw. Financial Services shows a good average score (90.0/100 across 22 companies), suggesting robust payment practices within that industry. The Transportation Infrastructure sector boasts the highest average, 98.1/100, however, this represents a single company and is therefore not particularly indicative of the wider sector.

If your invoices are regularly late, you can use this late payment calculator to calculate the interest you are owed.

Takeaway: Despite Scotland's average PaymentCheck score of 69.0/100 outpacing the UK's 50.0/100, the 80.3 point difference between the highest and lowest scores highlights the need for continued focus on improving payment practices across all Scottish businesses.