Only 5% of companies qualify to be fast payers
- Only 5% of the 5,367 UK’s largest companies that report payment terms have qualified for the 2024 Fast Payer Award from Good Business Pays
- The number of Fast Payers has dropped from 6% last year to 5% this year
- The award recognises big businesses that pay at least 95% of invoices on time and within 27 days or less, over the last 12 months
- Of the 275 Fast Paying companies, only 60 are signatories of The Prompt Payment Code
- Since 2019, almost a quarter of the UK’s largest companies have stopped reporting their statutory duty to report on the payment terms
In the weeks following the new government’s commitment to “tackle the scourge of late payments” Good Business Pays has named the 275 companies to be awarded its prestigious Fast Payer Award 2024, which recognises companies that have demonstrated the best payment performance to their suppliers over the past year.
This year sees the number of official Fast Payers decrease by 1% on last year, with winners covering almost all industry sectors and regions of the UK. Yet only 60 of the 275 companies were signatories of the Prompt Payment Code, the voluntary code of practice for businesses set to be changed by the new government, which was designed to encourage supplier payment in 30 to 60 days, depending on the supplier size.
Previous data from Good Business Pays showed that FTSE 350 companies are taking on average 37 days to pay their suppliers, with well-known companies such as Ab-Inbev, Reckitt Benckiser and Prada amongst the slowest to settle invoices.
The Federation of Small Businesses estimates 50,000 small businesses go under every year because of late-paying clients. The Government is committed to strengthening current regulations in 2024 to tackle late payment performance and will ban late payers from bidding for large public contracts.
Terry Corby, CEO of Good Business Pays CIC commented: “This is our fourth year of Fast Payer Awards, and we are seeing hundreds of large companies working hard to improve their payment performance to small suppliers. But only 5% of big companies are winning our Fast Payer awards so we have a long way to go. We expect the new government is introduce legislation in 2025 requiring large companies to publish their payment record in their annual reports. When that happens, we will see the payment records of thousands of companies that don’t currently report. Only then will the true picture of Britain’s B2B payment culture become clear.
Capgemini was awarded Fast Payer status:
Clive Hart, UK Legal Financial Director, Capgemini “At Capgemini, we recognise the importance of paying our suppliers promptly, as timely payments are essential for maintaining trusted business relationships and ensuring the smooth operation of our supply chain – which is of vital importance in the fast-moving technology industry. We are very pleased to have been recognised with the Good Business Pays ‘Fast Payer’ award, underscoring our commitment to supporting our suppliers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who are a crucial part of our network. As an organisation, we will continue to prioritise fostering a collaborative business environment to encourage mutual growth and success.”
Wm Morrison Supermarkets subsidiary Neerock was awarded Fast Payer status:
Jo Goff, Morrisons CFO. “Prompt payment is the bedrock of a good relationship with our suppliers and so we are really pleased to have been awarded the Good Business Pays Fast Payer Award for the second year in a row.”
Small Business Minister Gareth Thomas added: “I’m pleased to see Good Business Pays shining a light on those firms paying small firms on time. Every single small business deserves to be paid on time, it’s as simple as that.
“We know there’s a long way to go, which is why we’re taking action with a major consultation and a new Fair Payment Code to help generate real change to support SMEs to thrive and help to grow our economy.”
Backed by the Federation of Small Businesses, British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, and manufacturers group Make UK, the Good Business Pays movement was launched in May 2021 to encourage the UK’s largest companies to speed up payments to small suppliers, helping them bounce back and inject vital capital into the economy.
To see the full list of Fast Paying companies, click here.