Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

Blue Cross paid suppliers in 18 days on average — within its stated 7–30 day terms

CRN 00363197 · Wholesale & retail trade · 4 statutory reports on record · period to 31 Dec 2019

Dated record. The latest report covers a period ending 31 Dec 2019 and the company hasn’t filed since (it may have dropped below the reporting threshold). Treat the figures as historical.

18daysavg time to pay · H2 2019

Their H2 2019 filing put the average 11 days past the shortest term they state (7 days), still within their 30-day upper term.

Their stated terms: 7–30 days
Paid outside agreed terms: 18% of invoices
Paid after 61+ days: 1%
Reporting period: 1 Jul 2019 – 31 Dec 2019
Source: their gov.uk filing, filed 16 Mar 2020

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

Terms vs reality · their H2 2019 filing

Paid within their stated range — 18 against 7–30 days

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

avg 18d

0 days40 days

reported avg 18 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 83% 31–60 days 16% 61+ days 1%

Source: their statutory Payment Practices Report #29524, period 1 Jul 2019 – 31 Dec 2019, filed 16 Mar 2020 · gov.uk payment-practices service

Blue Cross paid within its stated range, 11 days past the shortest term. 18% of invoices still went outside agreed terms; 1% reached 61 days or more. Self-reported in their statutory H2 2019 filing.

The pattern · last 4 of 4 reports

30 → 18 days — faster across the window

PAIDLATE · the patternavg days per report

Last 4 of 4 filed reports · linear day scale · every period is in the table below · Source: gov.uk payment-practices service

12 days faster across the window. From 30 days in H1 2018 to 18 in the H2 2019 filing; the dashed line marks the 7-day term they state.

The read · computed from their figures

Blue Cross's H2 2019 filing put their average at 18 days against stated terms of 7–30 days; 18% of invoices were paid outside agreed terms and 1% took 61 days or longer. Filed 16 Mar 2020.

The direction is faster: from 30 days in H1 2018 to 18 now — 12 days faster across their last 4 reports.

That is 4 statutory periods on record (earliest H1 2018) — a historical record, not a promise for a new invoice.

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Normal settlement is 30 days. Where suppliers offer discounts for quicker settlement or offer staged payments over several months the choice of payment terms will be made pragmatically. Invoices received after their due date will be paid as soon as practical.

Dispute resolution

Disputes would be handled between principal contact at Blue Cross and supplier. Disputes are rare as purchase order system assures clarity from both parties before supply happens

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

Period	Avg days	Outside terms	61+ days	Filed
H2 2019	18	18%	1%	16 Mar 2020
H1 2019	14	8%	1%	18 Jul 2019
H2 2018	14	8%	9%	11 Jul 2019
H1 2018	30	14%	14%	31 Jul 2018

On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status: Active
Type: PRI/LTD BY GUAR/NSC (Private, limited by guarantee, no share capital)
Incorporated: 11 Sept 1940
Registered office: SHILTON ROAD, OXFORDSHIRE, OX18 4PF

2 outstanding charges — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 30 Sept 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Illustrative · working-capital arithmetic

What a 18-day cycle ties up

A worked example, not a finding. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 18-day vs a 7-day payment cycle.

≈ £7,000

of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 18-day cycle — about £4,300 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 · Blue Cross

Are they getting slower or faster?

Their reported average has moved about 12 days faster over the window (30 → 18 days).

What's their typical pay point?

Their latest filed report put the average at day 18; across their last 4 reports it ranged 14–30 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 Blue Cross (free)

They haven’t filed a payment report since 16 Mar 2020. We watch their public record and email you when something changes — a new payment report, late filings, insolvency markers, new charges.

You’ll get a confirmation email first. Unsubscribe any time. How we handle your address.

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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-00363197 · latest period to 31 Dec 2019

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