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None of the Tier 1 members of Build UK pays its supplier within 30 days average, despite them all having committed to doing so.

Build UK has published information on the payment performance of its contractor members using data submitted under the Duty to Report on Payment Practices and Performance.

Identified as a specific action within the recently published Construction Sector Deal, Build UK members have collectively agreed for Build UK to benchmark them on both the average time they take to pay invoices and the percentage of their invoices paid beyond terms.

Build UK said that exposing the poor performance 鈥渄emonstrated a real commitment to addressing this long-standing issue and will help to drive good practice鈥�.

Murphy comes out as the consistently slowest payer, taking an average of 66 days to pay invoices. Willmott Dixon is the best on this basis, taking 33 days.

However, when judged by percentage of invoices paid late, Interserve comes out as the worst, paying only 17% of its invoices within agreed terms.

Contractors ranked by average time taken to pay invoices

Build UK chief executive Suzannah Nichol said: 鈥淭he creation of Build UK offered the industry the opportunity to sit around the same table and work together to tackle the issue of payment, which continues to hold the industry back from realising its true potential. Transparency is essential to changing the industry culture around payment and the Duty to Report has provided a consistent means of comparing performance. This bold first step by Build UK and its members shows that the leaders within the sector are serious about changing the way they do business.鈥�

However, the National Federation of Builders (NFB), whose members not only suffer at the hands of the slow paying majors but effectively subsidise them, dismissed all this as cant. It said that the data published by Build UK showed not only its members' failure to follow best practice and fulfil a legal requirement to pay clients within 30 days but also an utter disregard for small and medium-sized (SME) businesses and regional contractors.

Neil Walters, national chair of the NFB, said: 鈥淔air practice is essential to changing the industry culture around payment, not transparency. Transparency is a legal requirement, not a bold step. Procurement regulations already require 30-day payment terms down the supply chain, but the first thing tier one contractors do is change the contract terms to suit their interests and all but force SMEs to sign the amended terms to get paid.

鈥淪eeing Build UK portray tier one contractors like industry pioneers is the ultimate insult. Build UK members, who make up less than 1% of the construction industry, are failing the 99%.鈥�

However, the government welcomed Build UK's initiative in collating the data. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said: 鈥淕overnment is leading by example in fair payment practices. All public sector organisations are required to pay undisputed invoices in 30 days and ensure this payment term is passed down the supply chain. Build UK is leading the industry by publishing its members鈥� payment performance. I hope to see more of these initiatives being led by industry to help us drive a positive change in culture and help eliminate poor payment practices.鈥�

Contractors ranked by percentage of invoices paid late

Information is currently available for 24 out of 27 Build UK contractor members in scope of the Duty to Report. The full set of results will be published by Build UK in October once the remainder have submitted their first reports.

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