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West Midlands Payment Practices Report 2024

•By PaymentCheck•Reports

West Midlands Businesses Significantly Outperform UK Average on Payment Practices

The Numbers

  • Companies analysed: 363
  • Average PaymentCheck Score: 63.3/100
  • UK average: 50.0/100
  • Difference: West Midlands is 13.3 points above the UK average.
  • Top score: 100/100 (achieved by two companies)
  • Lowest score: 18.93/100

What Stands Out

While the West Midlands outperforms the UK average, the wide range in scores, from 100 to below 20, indicates significant disparity in payment practices across businesses in the region. The dominance of financial services among the best performing sectors is noteworthy, perhaps reflecting greater financial discipline.

Best Payers

The top payers demonstrate exemplary payment behavior, achieving scores near perfect marks:

  1. SANDERSON ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP - 100/100
  2. I & A RESTAURANTS LTD - 100/100
  3. EXACT MORTGAGE EXPERTS LIMITED - 99.67/100
  4. BRYT ENERGY LIMITED - 99.6/100
  5. EPYX LIMITED - 99.4/100

These firms, spanning asset management, hospitality, mortgage expertise, energy, and general business, show that prompt payment isn't limited to a specific industry.

Worst Payers

The bottom payers show significant room for improvement, with scores indicating potential for consistently late payments or other problematic behaviors:

  1. CMBC SUPPLY LIMITED - 18.93/100
  2. BRIGGS OF BURTON PLC - 20/100
  3. ZF AUTOMOTIVE UK LIMITED - 20.5/100
  4. GKN AEROSPACE SERVICES LIMITED - 22/100
  5. MONDELEZ UK CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION LIMITED - 22.93/100

The presence of large, established companies like ZF Automotive, GKN Aerospace and Mondelez in this list is notable, suggesting that size doesn't necessarily equate to good payment ethics. Small businesses working with these companies may experience considerable cash flow difficulties. If you're dealing with late payments, you can use this late payment calculator to help.

Sector Breakdown

Sector performance is dominated by the following:

  • Media And Publishing: 91.8 avg (1 companies)
  • Human Resources: 90.6 avg (5 companies)
  • Travel And Transportation: 89.0 avg (1 companies)
  • Financial Services: 87.3 avg (18 companies)
  • Lifestyle And Entertainment: 86.7 avg (2 companies)

With only a single company representing Media and Publishing and Travel, the high averages might not be representative, however Financial Services, with 18 companies, shows a solid trend of good payment practice in the West Midlands.

While the West Midlands outperforms the national average by 13.3 points, some companies are dragging down the average significantly, as shown by the lowest score of 18.93 out of 100.