Dave, Construction Business Owner, Manchester.

• Sector: Construction

• Business Size: Small business, 15 employees

• Location: Manchester

• Experience: 30 years in trade

• Impact: Late payments from large contractors force Dave to delay wages for his team. This has led to high staff turnover, adding stress and reducing project efficiency.

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“I’ve been in the construction trade for over 30 years. I’ve seen my share of problems, but late payments from contractors have been one of the hardest things to deal with. Last year, we completed a refurbishment for a big property developer. Everything went smoothly on-site, but getting paid was another story. They dragged it out for 120 days. Meanwhile, I had to pay my lads every week—they’ve got families, mortgages, the lot.

I ended up taking out a bridging loan to cover wages and materials for the next project. The interest on that wiped out most of the profit we’d earned on the job. It’s infuriating. Big companies know small businesses like mine can’t afford to wait, so they string us along. It’s not fair, but what can you do? Take them to court? You’d never work in this town again.

The lads started getting fed up, too. One of my best brickies left because he said he couldn’t deal with the uncertainty. That hurt more than anything because I’ve worked hard to build a good team. The knock-on effect of one late payment can spiral out of control. These days, I’m more cautious about who I work with. It’s not easy turning down jobs, but I can’t keep going through this.”

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