UK Identifies Worst Late Payment Offender

The U.K. government is naming-and-shaming the nation’s worst late B2B payments offenders as part of its ongoing crackdown on the practice of paying small suppliers’ invoices late.

Reports in This Is Money on Friday (Jan. 19) said a government report identified Grainer & Worrall Engineering as having the worst late payment record for the second half of 2017. Analysts said the company missed invoice payment due dates 96 percent of the time between Jun. 4 and Nov. 30 of last year.

“As a family-owned business, we work closely with all our suppliers when it comes to payment dates,” a spokesperson for Grainer & Worrall told the publication. “We place huge value on our supplier relationships, understanding that they have businesses to run and cash flows to manage, too — and enjoy numerous longstanding partnerships with them. In fact, out of our top 20 suppliers, we have worked with most for 20 years or more. We welcome and support the government’s initiative to drive transparency on payment terms, and we were one of the first companies to register to provide data. Currently, there are less than 320 companies in the U.K. who have registered, so early days in the reporting process, and we’re like to see more supporting the initiative.”

Parts Alliance Group came in at number two, missing payment deadlines 95 percent of the time. Grainer & Worrall’s machining unit came in third, with 93 percent of invoice payments coming in late.

The publication said Deloitte may be the most recognizable company on the list, which missed 80 percent of invoice due dates, coming in 17th place. Its subsidiaries came in ranked at 43rd, overall.

“The government data shows that we’re paying suppliers on average within 25 days, which is within our standard terms of 30 days,” a spokesperson for Deloitte responded.

Meanwhile, the government also highlighted companies with some of the best payment practices, including Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge.