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Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

How long does Thames Water Utilities Limited take to pay its suppliers?

CRN 02366661 · Water & waste · 16 statutory reports on record · period to 31 Mar 2026

60days
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
1 Apr 1989
Registered office
CLEARWATER COURT, READING, RG1 8DB
6 outstanding charges — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 31 Dec 2026

Open the full record at Companies House.

Terms vs reality

Stated terms: 1–91 days. Reported average: 60.

Stated terms1–91d
+59 days
Reported avg60d

At a glance

The key figures

1–91d
their stated terms
14%
invoices paid outside terms
±2d
steady pattern

Vs peers · latest reported averages

fasterslower
Slower than 97% of the 62 large companies reporting in water & waste.

The pattern

Holding steady

Average days to pay across their last 6 statutory reports.

terms 1d
59
58
64
61
63
60
H2 2023H1 2024H2 2024H1 2025H2 2025H1 2026

Where their supplier invoices land · latest period

within 30 days 25% 31–60 days 32% 61+ days 43%

The read · computed from their figures

Thames Water Utilities Limited has filed 16 statutory payment periods (earliest H2 2018). Their latest report puts the average at 60 days against stated terms of 1–91 days.

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

In the latest period 14% of invoices were paid outside their agreed terms, and 43% landed 61+ days out.

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Unless otherwise agreed, our standard payment terms are 60 end of month. This means payment is due at the last day of the second month following receipt of a correctly presented compliant invoice. e.g. valid invoice received on 1st July would be due for payment on 30th September (91 days), valid invoice received on 31st July would be due for payment on 30th September (61 days)

Dispute resolution

There are two different types of dispute: 1. Non-compliant: Invoices should be presented promptly to the address indicated on the purchase order and must contain a valid purchase order number. If invoices are non-compliant, they will be returned unprocessed, negatively impacting the payment date. Full details of what is considered a compliant invoice can be found within our website https://www.thameswater.co.uk/about-us/our-suppliers We will endeavour to resolve these in a fair and timely manner. In the event of specific issue, the supplier should contact the individual who is the main point of contact as identified on the purchase order. Payment will not be made until the issue is resolved. 2. Formal disputes: Where a solicitor has been formally instructed by Thames. Not

Other information

We operate a weekly BACS and cheque run which includes invoices due up until the Sunday of that week. Of the 14% of invoices due but not paid within agreed terms referred to in the Payment Statistics section above, 65% are overdue by 1-5 days. This is attributed to our weekly payment timetable. The remaining invoices not paid within the agreed terms are for invoices that are being queried or are in dispute.

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

PeriodAvg daysOutside terms61+ daysFiled
H1 20266014%43%14 May 2026
H2 20256314%42%23 Oct 2025
H1 20256116%43%29 Apr 2025
H2 20246417%53%28 Oct 2024
H1 20245828%44%30 Apr 2024
H2 20235918%51%30 Oct 2023
H1 20235817%52%27 Apr 2023
H2 20226015%61%28 Oct 2022
H1 20225914%60%29 Apr 2022
H2 20216014%63%28 Oct 2021
H1 20216111%64%29 Apr 2021
H2 20206212%70%22 Oct 2020
H1 20205724%54%28 Apr 2020
H2 20196014%59%30 Oct 2019
H1 20195925%52%30 Apr 2019
H2 20186020%54%13 Nov 2018

Working-capital effect

What a 60-day cycle ties up

Illustrative. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 60-day vs a 1-day payment cycle.

≈ £23,500
of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 60-day cycle — about £23,300 more than the same account would carry at 1-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 60 days.
What's their typical pay point?
Their latest reports average around day 60, 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 Thames Water Utilities Limited (free)

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More large companies in water & waste

Sutton and East Surrey Water PLC · UK Waste Management Limited · Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd · United Utilities Water Limited · Stirling Water Seafield Limited · Veolia Es Birmingham 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 6,185 companies with a current statutory report — every sector pooled, not an average of sector medians (how the figure is built).

Report PL-02366661 · latest period to 31 Mar 2026

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