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Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

How long does Waterstones Booksellers Limited take to pay its suppliers?

CRN 00610095 · Wholesale & retail trade · 18 statutory reports on record · period to 2 May 2026

68days
their reported average time to pay suppliers, latest period
Well behindvs a 31-day median across 6,185 recent filers

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

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On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status
Active
Type
Private Limited Company
Incorporated
22 Aug 1958
Registered office
203-206 PICCADILLY, LONDON, W1J 9HD
1 outstanding charge — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 31 Jan 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Terms vs reality

Stated terms: 0–90 days. Reported average: 68.

Stated terms0–90d
+68 days
Reported avg68d

At a glance

The key figures

0–90d
their stated terms
8%
invoices paid outside terms
-8d
faster over the window
±1d
steady pattern

Vs peers · latest reported averages

fasterslower
Slower than 94% of the 819 large companies reporting in wholesale & retail trade.

The pattern

Getting faster

Average days to pay across their last 6 statutory reports.

76
73
69
69
69
68
H2 2023H1 2024H2 2024H1 2025H2 2025H1 2026

Where their supplier invoices land · latest period

within 30 days 24% 31–60 days 10% 61+ days 66%

The read · computed from their figures

Waterstones Booksellers Limited has filed 18 statutory payment periods (earliest H2 2017). Their latest report puts the average at 68 days against stated terms of 0–90 days.

The direction is faster: from 76 to 68 days over the window — about 8 days faster.

In the latest period 8% of invoices were paid outside their agreed terms, and 66% landed 61+ days out.

What they tell their suppliers

Offers e-invoicing

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

The standard payment terms for the supply of books is 60 days from the end of the month in which the invoice is received , with an additional 7 working days to ensure funds have cleared through BACs. However there are a number of suppliers who fall outside the standard terms. The company does not have standard payment terms for the supply of non book products for resale. The most frequest terms for non coffee products are 60 days from the end of month, with payment made on the next working day. The most frequent terms for coffee projects is 30 days For trade purchases of goods not for resale and services, the company has standard written terms of purchase, which can be found here:-à, and which contain standard terms of payment.  However, in certain circumstances, a supplier will

Dispute resolution

Resolution of disputes will be handled on a specfic case by case basis. We always see to resolve disputes as soon as possible.

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

PeriodAvg daysOutside terms61+ daysFiled
H1 2026688%66%26 May 2026
H2 2025699%69%1 Dec 2025
H1 20256911%72%2 Jun 2025
H2 20246910%72%25 Nov 2024
H1 20247314%74%24 May 2024
H2 20237613%84%24 Nov 2023
H1 20237712%89%25 May 2023
H2 20227514%76%23 Nov 2022
H1 20227313%76%30 May 2022
H2 20217714%76%23 Nov 2021
H1 20218413%89%24 May 2021
H2 20208916%85%8 Feb 2021
H1 20206616%59%22 May 2020
H2 20196414%57%21 Nov 2019
H1 20196416%56%23 May 2019
H2 20186515%57%8 Nov 2018
H1 20186924%59%25 May 2018
H2 20176929%61%29 Nov 2017

Working-capital effect

What a 68-day cycle ties up

Illustrative. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 68-day vs a 0-day payment cycle.

≈ £27,000
of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 68-day cycle — about £26,800 more than the same account would carry at 0-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 has moved about 8 days faster over the window (76 → 68 days).
What's their typical pay point?
Their latest reports average around day 68, moving within about ±1 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 Waterstones Booksellers Limited (free)

Their next payment report is due ≈ 28 Nov 2026. 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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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-00610095 · latest period to 2 May 2026

Verify the original Companies House file

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