Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

United Utilities Water Limited pays suppliers in 14 days on average — inside its shortest stated term

CRN 02366678 · Water & waste · 16 statutory reports on record · period to 31 Mar 2026

14daysavg time to pay · H1 2026

Their H1 2026 filing puts the average 16 days inside the shortest term they state (30 days).

Faster than mostvs a 31-day median across 6,104 recent filers

Their stated terms: 30–60 days
Paid outside agreed terms: 4% of invoices
Paid after 61+ days: 2%
Reporting period: 1 Oct 2025 – 31 Mar 2026
Source: their gov.uk filing, filed 1 May 2026

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

Terms vs reality · their H1 2026 filing

Paid 16 days inside the 30-day term they state

PAIDLATE · terms vs the clockdays to pay · 0–65

avg 14d

0 days65 days

reported avg 14 days their filed terms 30–60 days UK median 31 days · n = 6,104 recent filers

Where their invoices landed · share of all invoices

within 30 days 92% 31–60 days 6% 61+ days 2%

Source: their statutory Payment Practices Report #111711, period 1 Oct 2025 – 31 Mar 2026, filed 1 May 2026 · gov.uk payment-practices service

United Utilities Water Limited pays 16 days inside the shortest term it states. 4% of invoices still went outside agreed terms; 2% reached 61 days or more. Self-reported in their statutory H1 2026 filing.

The pattern · last 6 of 16 reports

11 → 14 days — slowing down

PAIDLATE · the patternavg days per report

Last 6 of 16 filed reports · linear day scale · every period is in the table below · Source: gov.uk payment-practices service

3 days slower across the window. From 11 days in H2 2023 to 14 in the H1 2026 filing; the dashed line marks the 30-day term they state.

The read · computed from their figures

United Utilities Water Limited's H1 2026 filing puts their average at 14 days against stated terms of 30–60 days; 4% of invoices were paid outside agreed terms and 2% took 61 days or longer. Filed 1 May 2026.

The direction is slower: from 11 days in H2 2023 to 14 now — 3 days slower across their last 6 reports.

On the latest reported averages: Faster than 97% of the 62 large companies reporting in water & waste.

That is 16 statutory periods on record (earliest H2 2018) — a historical record, not a promise for a new invoice.

What they tell their suppliers

Payment code: Prompt payment code 2% of invoices in dispute

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Several standard payment terms apply depending on the nature of the goods, services or works supplied and are agreed with suppliers as part of contract negotiations. The most common payment terms for invoices paid in the period are end of month following month of invoice and 14, 28 and 30 days.

Dispute resolution

In the first instance, issues with any payments are referred to the Commercial / Purchasing Team who process the invoices and payments. If the issue cannot be remedied, each contract has an escalation process for all disputes, including payment,

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

Period	Avg days	Outside terms	61+ days	Filed
H1 2026	14	4%	2%	1 May 2026
H2 2025	13	9%	2%	31 Oct 2025
H1 2025	12	7%	1%	29 Apr 2025
H2 2024	11	7%	1%	22 Oct 2024
H1 2024	11	4%	1%	18 Apr 2024
H2 2023	11	3%	1%	19 Oct 2023
H1 2023	11	5%	1%	26 Apr 2023
H2 2022	12	5%	1%	31 Oct 2022
H1 2022	13	5%	1%	28 Apr 2022
H2 2021	13	4%	0%	21 Oct 2021
H1 2021	13	3%	0%	29 Apr 2021
H2 2020	13	3%	0%	30 Oct 2020
H1 2020	14	3%	1%	22 Apr 2020
H2 2019	16	3%	0%	28 Oct 2019
H1 2019	24	2%	0%	29 Apr 2019
H2 2018	25	2%	0%	25 Oct 2018

On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status: Active
Type: Private Limited Company
Incorporated: 1 Apr 1989
Registered office: HAWESWATER HOUSE, LINGLEY GREEN AVENUE GREAT, WA5 3LP

0 outstanding charges on the register Accounts due 31 Dec 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Quick answers · United Utilities Water Limited

Are they getting slower or faster?

Their reported average has moved about 3 days slower over the window (11 → 14 days).

What's their typical pay point?

Their latest filed report puts the average at day 14; across their last 6 reports it ranged 11–14 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 United Utilities Water Limited (free)

Their next payment report is due ≈ 27 Oct 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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More large companies in water & waste

UK Waste Management Limited · Veolia Es Birmingham Limited · Thames Water Utilities Limited · Veolia Es Hampshire Ltd · Sutton and East Surrey Water PLC · Veolia Es Merseyside & Halton 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 6,104 companies with a current statutory report — every sector pooled, not an average of sector medians (how the figure is built).

Report PL-02366678 · latest period to 31 Mar 2026

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