Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

Football League Limited(THE) pays suppliers in 23 days on average — within its stated 7–30 day terms

CRN 00080612 · Arts & entertainment · 18 statutory reports on record · period to 31 Jul 2026

23daysavg time to pay · H1 2026

Their H1 2026 filing puts the average 16 days past the shortest term they state (7 days), still within their 30-day upper term.

Faster than mostvs a 31-day median across 6,104 recent filers

Their stated terms: 7–30 days
Paid outside agreed terms: 24% of invoices
Paid after 61+ days: 1%
Reporting period: 1 Feb 2026 – 31 Jul 2026
Source: their gov.uk filing, filed 28 Aug 2026

Self-reported figures from their statutory filing. How this is compiled.

Terms vs reality · their H1 2026 filing

Paid within their stated range — 23 against 7–30 days

PAIDLATE · terms vs the clockdays to pay · 0–40

avg 23d

0 days40 days

reported avg 23 days their filed terms 7–30 days UK median 31 days · n = 6,104 recent filers

Where their invoices landed · share of all invoices

within 30 days 76% 31–60 days 23% 61+ days 1%

Source: their statutory Payment Practices Report #116678, period 1 Feb 2026 – 31 Jul 2026, filed 28 Aug 2026 · gov.uk payment-practices service

Football League Limited(THE) pays within its stated range, 16 days past the shortest term. 24% of invoices still went outside agreed terms; 1% reached 61 days or more. Self-reported in their statutory H1 2026 filing.

The pattern · last 6 of 18 reports

Holding steady around 23 days

PAIDLATE · the patternavg days per report

Last 6 of 18 filed reports · linear day scale · every period is in the table below · Source: gov.uk payment-practices service

Steady around 23 days. Their reported average has moved within about ±3 days period to period; the dashed line marks the 7-day term they state.

The read · computed from their figures

Football League Limited(THE)'s H1 2026 filing puts their average at 23 days against stated terms of 7–30 days; 24% of invoices were paid outside agreed terms and 1% took 61 days or longer. Filed 28 Aug 2026.

The pattern is steady — their reported average moves within about ±3 days period to period.

On the latest reported averages: Faster than 75% of the 73 large companies reporting in arts & entertainment.

That is 18 statutory periods on record (earliest H2 2017) — a historical record, not a promise for a new invoice.

What they tell their suppliers

1% of invoices in dispute

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Some suppliers require payment on receipt of invoice but the earliest where days are quoted is 7. An assumption has been made that the majority of suppliers have standard payment terms of 30 days.

Dispute resolution

Initial credit control dealt with by the Finance Department. Any additional issues managed by the relevant relationship manager.

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

Period	Avg days	Outside terms	61+ days	Filed
H1 2026	23	24%	1%	28 Aug 2026
H1 2026	25	28%	1%	24 Feb 2026
H1 2025	24	27%	1%	26 Aug 2025
H2 2024	28	35%	3%	31 Jan 2025
H1 2024	25	25%	2%	26 Jul 2024
H2 2023	25	21%	4%	31 Jan 2024
H1 2023	23	16%	3%	31 Jul 2023
H2 2022	28	20%	5%	31 Jan 2023
H1 2022	22	15%	3%	24 Aug 2022
H2 2021	25	17%	3%	24 Aug 2022
H1 2021	23	18%	4%	26 Jul 2021
H2 2020	42	32%	7%	8 Feb 2021
H1 2020	23	18%	4%	8 Feb 2021
H2 2019	18	5%	1%	27 Jan 2020
H1 2019	20	9%	2%	31 Jul 2019
H2 2018	23	12%	3%	30 Jan 2019
H1 2018	16	6%	1%	20 Jul 2018
H2 2017	15	5%	1%	31 Jan 2018

On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status: Active
Type: Private Limited Company
Incorporated: 11 Apr 1904
Registered office: EFL HOUSE, PRESTON, PR1 8HU

1 outstanding charge — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 30 Apr 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Illustrative · working-capital arithmetic

What a 23-day cycle ties up

A worked example, not a finding. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 23-day vs a 7-day payment cycle.

≈ £9,000

of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 23-day cycle — about £6,300 more than the same account would carry at 7-day terms.

Late Payment Act. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets a supplier charge statutory interest and fixed compensation on invoices paid past agreed terms. Work out what a late invoice is worth → Whether it applies depends on your contract — check with an adviser.

Quick answers · Football League Limited(THE)

Are they getting slower or faster?

Their reported average is steady — within about ±3 days period to period, around 23 days.

What's their typical pay point?

Their latest reports average around day 23, moving within about ±3 days. Treat that as a historical reference point, not a promise for a new invoice.

Can I see what this means for my invoices?

Run the live check — it re-reads their record and their live Companies House file, on the amount you invoice.

Stay ahead

Watch Football League Limited(THE) (free)

Their next payment report is due ≈ 26 Feb 2027. We watch their public record and email you when something changes — a new payment report, late filings, insolvency markers, new charges.

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More large companies in arts & entertainment

Football Association Limited · Formula Motorsport Limited · Festival Republic Limited · Formula One Digital Media Limited · Everton Football Club Company,Limited(THE) · Formula One Hospitality and Event Services Limited

How UK payment reporting works

What is a Payment Practices Report?

UK companies and LLPs above a size threshold — broadly, two of: turnover over £54m, balance sheet over £27m, or more than 250 employees — must report twice a year, under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017, how quickly they actually pay suppliers: the average time to pay, the share of invoices paid in 30 days or fewer, 31 to 60 days and 61 days or longer, and their standard payment terms. Those thresholds apply to financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025; for earlier financial years they were £36m and £18m, with the same 250-employee test.

What does "paid outside agreed terms" mean?

The share of invoices paid later than the terms in the supplier contract. If terms are 30 days and an invoice is paid on day 45, it counts as paid outside terms, regardless of the headline average.

How often is this data updated?

Each report covers a six-month period and must be filed within 30 days of that period ending, so a company's record refreshes roughly twice a year. PaidLate re-reads the register as new reports are filed.

Is this official government data?

The underlying payment figures come from the company's own statutory filings on the gov.uk payment-practices service; company-status data comes from Companies House. PaidLate calculates trends, comparisons and summaries from those records. It does not use surveys or credit-agency scores.

How this is compiled. Built from official records only: Companies House and the gov.uk payment-practices service. The payment figures are self-reported — companies over the size threshold must file them by law and the board signs them off. No credit-agency data. The numbers are theirs; the plain-English read is ours. This is information compiled from public records under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — not a credit rating and not advice.

The 31-day comparison figure is the median across 6,104 companies with a current statutory report — every sector pooled, not an average of sector medians (how the figure is built).

Report PL-00080612 · latest period to 31 Jul 2026

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