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Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

How long does Costain Limited take to pay its suppliers?

CRN 00610201 · Construction · 17 statutory reports on record · period to 30 Jun 2026

25days
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.

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On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status
Active
Type
Private Limited Company
Incorporated
25 Aug 1958
Registered office
SEVENTH FLOOR, LONDON, EC3A 8BE
7 outstanding charges — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 30 Sept 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Terms vs reality

Stated terms: 7 days. Reported average: 25.

Stated terms7d
+18 days
Reported avg25d

At a glance

The key figures

7d
their stated terms
18%
invoices paid outside terms
+6d
slower over the window
±6d
variable pattern

Vs peers · latest reported averages

fasterslower
Faster than 82% of the 385 large companies reporting in construction.

The pattern

Getting slower

Average days to pay across their last 6 statutory reports.

terms 7d
19
20
31
22
20
25
H2 2023H1 2024H2 2024H1 2025H2 2025H1 2026

Where their supplier invoices land · latest period

within 30 days 78% 31–60 days 19% 61+ days 3%

The read · computed from their figures

Costain Limited has filed 17 statutory payment periods (earliest H1 2018). Their latest report puts the average at 25 days against stated terms of 7 days.

The direction is slower: from 19 to 25 days over the window — about 6 days slower.

In the latest period 18% of invoices were paid outside their agreed terms, and 3% landed 61+ days out.

What they tell their suppliers

Payment code: Fair Payment Code

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Payment terms are agreed with suppliers and subcontractors as part of the contract arrangement and invoices must show the order number. Terms very between 7 days where we have some rental invoices and payment is made once the invoice is processed to 60 days from the date of invoices. The most frequent payment term for supplier within the reporting period is 30 days from the date of the invoice with payment to these suppliers generally made after receiving the statement from the supplier.

Dispute resolution

Costain Limited actively seeks to resolves disputes by discussing with the relevant suppliers and typically involving members of the relevant projects supply chain, procurement and commercial teams and the relevant accounts or accounts payable team. For major suppliers and subcontractors, central procurement will likely be involved and, where necessary, members of management. Where it is not possible to reach agreement, usually on entitlement in relations to subcontractors, several potential dispute resolution methods may be used, most commonly, mediation or adjudication. If it remains impossible to reach agreement, the items may be referred for litigation.

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

PeriodAvg daysOutside terms61+ daysFiled
H1 20262518%3%31 Jul 2026
H2 20252015%4%30 Jan 2026
H1 20252212%3%31 Jul 2025
H2 20243114%2%30 Jan 2025
H1 20242013%3%30 Jul 2024
H2 20231910%2%30 Jan 2024
H1 2023189%1%27 Jul 2023
H2 2022199%2%31 Jan 2023
H1 20221912%2%28 Jul 2022
H2 20212113%3%27 Jan 2022
H1 20212519%5%28 Jul 2021
H2 20203226%9%28 Jan 2021
H1 20203832%10%30 Jul 2020
H2 20193228%7%28 Jan 2020
H1 20193639%16%29 Jul 2019
H2 20185361%24%30 Jan 2019
H1 20185967%26%31 Jul 2018

Working-capital effect

What a 25-day cycle ties up

Illustrative. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 25-day vs a 7-day payment cycle.

≈ £10,000
of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 25-day cycle — about £7,100 more than the same account would carry at 7-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 6 days slower over the window (19 → 25 days).
What's their typical pay point?
Their latest reports average around day 25, moving within about ±6 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 Costain Limited (free)

Their next payment report is due ≈ 26 Jan 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 construction

Costain Engineering & Construction Limited · Costain Oil, Gas & Process Limited · Cormac Solutions Limited · Countryside Properties (UK) Limited · Connect Plus (M25) Limited · CRH Fencing & Security Group (UK) Ltd

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-00610201 · latest period to 30 Jun 2026

Verify the original Companies House file

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