Fruit

Payment Behaviour Analysis: Fruit Sector

This report presents a detailed analysis of payment behaviour within the Fruit sector, based on a sample of 37 UK-based companies. The data reveals a relatively stable payment culture, with the centre of the distribution showing a mean payment time of 36.5 days. Whilst this average suggests a moderate pace, the median figure of 35 days indicates that the typical company in this sector settles its invoices slightly faster than the arithmetic mean implies. Notably, the standard deviation of 11.3 days points to a reasonably consistent approach across the cohort, although variations certainly exist. Realising the importance of operational cash flow, nearly half of the invoices (49.1%) are cleared within a standard 30-day window, demonstrating that a significant portion of the sector favours prompt settlement.

A deeper look at the distribution reveals that the majority of businesses fall into the 'Moderate' category (31–45 days), accounting for 48.6% of the sample. When combined with the 27.0% of companies classified as 'Fast' payers (0–30 days), it becomes evident that over three-quarters of the sector manage to process payments within a month and a half. The interquartile range of 17 days—spanning from the 25th percentile at 28 days to the 75th percentile at 45 days—further reinforces this observation of a clustered, predictable payment schedule. Crucially, the analysis highlights a complete absence of 'Critical' performers; no companies in this sample took longer than 90 days to pay, which is a positive indicator of financial health and responsible governance amongst these organisations.

However, despite the generally positive trends, suppliers should remain vigilant, as 36.1% of payments are classified as late. Whilst the sector does not exhibit extreme delinquency, the presence of 'Slow' payers (46–60 days) comprising 21.6% of the sample suggests that administrative bottlenecks or cash preservation strategies are still prevalent. The outliers provide a clear contrast in operational efficiency: the fastest payer settled accounts in just 13 days, whilst the slowest took 63 days. This gap highlights that whilst the sector generally avoids critical delays, there is still significant room for companies to organise their accounts payable processes more efficiently to match the top performers (<20 days), of which there were three identified in this study.

Geographically, the sample is heavily weighted towards the East Midlands (9 companies) and the South East (8 companies), followed closely by the East of England. Interestingly, London and the West Midlands represent a smaller portion of this specific dataset. In summary, the Fruit sector demonstrates a payment behaviour that is largely dependable, centring around a five-week settlement period. Suppliers dealing with these entities can largely expect payment within 30 to 45 days, though they must realise that late payments remain a distinct possibility for over a third of transactions. To mitigate risk, stakeholders should analyse individual credit reports, particularly when engaging with firms that do not specialise in rapid invoice processing.