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South East Payment Practices Report 2024

•By PaymentCheck•Reports

South East Businesses Lead the UK on Payment Performance, But Laggards Drag Down Overall Score

The Numbers

  • 963 companies in the South East, UK, were analysed.
  • The average PaymentCheck Score is 69.9/100.
  • This is 19.9 points higher than the UK average of 50.0/100, showing South East businesses generally pay invoices faster than the national average.

What Stands Out

The sheer size of the gap between the average score and the UK average is the main story. While the South East boasts many excellent payers, the presence of companies with extremely low scores suggests that late payment problems, while not universal, are significant for some suppliers.

Best Payers

A handful of companies achieve perfect scores, demonstrating what's possible:

  1. GATTACA PLC - 100/100
  2. CENTRICA LNG UK LIMITED - 100/100
  3. DYNO-ROD LIMITED - 100/100
  4. FIL PENSIONS MANAGEMENT - 100/100
  5. XEROX FINANCE LIMITED - 100/100

These companies represent diverse sectors, suggesting good payment practices aren't confined to a single industry in the South East.

Worst Payers

These companies have considerable room for improvement and are potentially damaging smaller suppliers:

  1. TARGUS EUROPE LIMITED - 17.6/100
  2. RECKITT BENCKISER (UK) LIMITED - 18.7/100
  3. MAVENIR SYSTEMS LIMITED - 19.52/100
  4. KIMBERLY-CLARK EUROPEAN SERVICES LIMITED - 20.23/100
  5. OPELLA HEALTHCARE UK LIMITED - 20.5/100

The presence of larger, well-known businesses like Reckitt Benckiser on this list raises questions about their supply chain management practices. Suppliers struggling with late payments can use our late payment calculator to understand potential financial impacts.

Sector Breakdown

Certain sectors demonstrate a clear commitment to prompt payment:

  • Human Resources: 86.9 avg (11 companies)
  • Financial Services: 86.0 avg (73 companies)
  • Lifestyle And Entertainment: 83.8 avg (12 companies)
  • Education: 82.8 avg (48 companies)
  • Waterways Travel: 81.4 avg (2 companies)

Human Resources and Financial Services lead the way, showing a stronger average payment score. It's worth noting that the Waterways Travel sector is based on just two companies, so the average might not be broadly representative.

Takeaway: While the average PaymentCheck Score of 69.9/100 indicates generally good payment practices in the South East, the range, from 17.6 to 100, reveals significant inconsistencies across companies.