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Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

How long does Dragon School Trust Limited take to pay its suppliers?

CRN 00524331 · Education · 13 statutory reports on record · period to 29 Feb 2024

24days
their reported average time to pay suppliers, latest period
Faster than mostvs a 31-day median across 6,185 recent filers

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

Share
Dated record. The latest report covers a period ending 29 Feb 2024 and the company hasn’t filed since (it may have dropped below the reporting threshold). Treat the figures as historical.

On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status
Active
Type
PRI/LTD BY GUAR/NSC (Private, limited by guarantee, no share capital)
Incorporated
6 Oct 1953
Registered office
BARDWELL ROAD, OX2 6SS
9 outstanding charges — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 31 May 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Terms vs reality

Stated terms: 14–30 days. Reported average: 24.

Stated terms14–30d
+10 days
Reported avg24d

At a glance

The key figures

14–30d
their stated terms
7%
invoices paid outside terms
±2d
steady pattern

Vs peers · latest reported averages

fasterslower
Faster than 55% of the 303 large companies reporting in education.

The pattern

Holding steady

Average days to pay across their last 6 statutory reports.

terms 14d
24
23
23
24
20
24
H1 2021H1 2022H1 2022H1 2023H1 2023H1 2024

Where their supplier invoices land · latest period

within 30 days 93% 31–60 days 4% 61+ days 3%

The read · computed from their figures

Dragon School Trust Limited has filed 13 statutory payment periods (earliest H1 2018). Their latest report puts the average at 24 days against stated terms of 14–30 days.

The pattern is steady — their reported average moves within about ±2 days period to period.

In the latest period 7% of invoices were paid outside their agreed terms, and 3% landed 61+ days out.

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Standard contractual length for payment of invoices is 30 days. Any requests by suppliers to reduce this period are considered and usually complied with where possible.

Dispute resolution

o The purchase ledger clerk will confirm with the supplier which invoices they believe are overdue. o The purchase ledger clerk will check the system to see if the invoices have been registered and will then check with the budget holder to ensure that the invoice is genuine and the goods or services had been ordered and received. If the invoices are agreed to be due, copy invoices are requested if they aren’t already on the system. Authorisation is then obtained from the budget holder and payment made, usually on the next weekly payment run. It is also recommended to the supplier that they email future invoices to the purchase ledger clerk so we can track them in future. o If invoices are on our system and authorised, purchase ledger clerk will see when they are due for payment. BACS

Other information

Authorisation from the budget holder must be received before any payment can be made. Invoices can either be received by the finance office or the budget holder and if invoice is received soon after invoice date there is usually sufficient time to obtain authorisation and make the payment. If the invoice is delayed in getting to us, the time available to make payment within 30 days of the invoice date is reduced, but we use our best endeavours to make payment by that date.

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

PeriodAvg daysOutside terms61+ daysFiled
H1 2024247%3%19 Mar 2024
H1 2023209%2%18 Sept 2023
H1 2023248%2%30 Mar 2023
H1 20222311%2%26 Sept 2022
H1 2022238%3%28 Mar 2022
H1 20212411%3%14 Sept 2021
H1 2021258%3%8 Mar 2021
H1 20202314%3%24 Sept 2020
H1 20202411%4%18 Mar 2020
H1 20192414%3%17 Sept 2019
H1 20192717%5%2 Apr 2019
H1 20182920%8%21 Dec 2018
H1 20182823%6%25 May 2018

Working-capital effect

What a 24-day cycle ties up

Illustrative. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 24-day vs a 14-day payment cycle.

≈ £9,500
of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 24-day cycle — about £3,900 more than the same account would carry at 14-day terms.

Late Payment Act. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 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

Are they getting slower or faster?
Their reported average is steady — within about ±2 days period to period, around 24 days.
What's their typical pay point?
Their latest reports average around day 24, moving within about ±2 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 Dragon School Trust Limited (free)

Their next payment report is due ≈ 26 Sept 2024. 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 education

Downe House School · Drivetech (UK) Limited · Djanogly Learning Trust · E-act · Dixons Academies Charitable Trust Ltd · East Midlands Education Trust

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 6,185 companies with a current statutory report — every sector pooled, not an average of sector medians (how the figure is built).

Report PL-00524331 · latest period to 29 Feb 2024

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