Prompt payment code defaulters named and shamed

摘要

The government this week signalled it is upping the ante in its pledge to get tough with the industry's late payers by publicly naming for the first time those firms it has dumped from the Prompt Payment Code. The scheme, introduced in 2013 as a payment hallmark whereby firms voluntarily pledge to pay 95% of all supplier invoices within 60 days, has previously seen signatories stripped of membership but without being named. But on Monday the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM), which oversees the code for the government, outed 17 firms that have been thrown off the initiative. Balfour Beatty, the UK's largest contractor, Laing O'Rourke, the UK's biggest privately owned contractor, and Interserve, which went into administration in March, have all been suspended for missing the payment code target, as have Costain and Persimmon. All have been told to meet the 95% target within the next year to be allowed back into the scheme. For the six months ended 31 December 2018, Balfour Beatty paid 82% of invoices within 60 days, while Interserve, Costain and Persimmon paid 90%, 76% and 65% respectively. For the six months to 31 March 2019, Laing O'Rourke paid 57% of invoices within 60 days.