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Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

Smiths Metal Centres Limited pays suppliers in 56 days on average — within its stated 15–120 day terms

CRN 03485838 · Wholesale & retail trade · 15 statutory reports on record · period to 30 Jun 2026

56daysavg time to pay · H1 2026

Their H1 2026 filing puts the average 41 days past the shortest term they state (15 days), still within their 120-day upper term.

Slower than mostvs a 31-day median across 6,104 recent filers
Their stated terms
15–120 days
Paid outside agreed terms
2% of invoices
Paid after 61+ days
42%
Reporting period
1 Jan 2026 – 30 Jun 2026
Source
their gov.uk filing, filed 23 Jul 2026

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

Terms vs reality · their H1 2026 filing

Paid within their stated range — 56 against 15–120 days

The pattern · last 6 of 15 reports

Holding steady around 56 days

The read · computed from their figures

Smiths Metal Centres Limited's H1 2026 filing puts their average at 56 days against stated terms of 15–120 days; 2% of invoices were paid outside agreed terms and 42% took 61 days or longer. Filed 23 Jul 2026.

The pattern is steady — their reported average moves within about ±18 days period to period.

On the latest reported averages: Slower than 84% of the 815 large companies reporting in wholesale & retail trade.

That is 15 statutory periods on record (earliest H1 2019) — a historical record, not a promise for a new invoice.

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

One of Smith Metal Centres' core value is strict adherence to agreed supplier terms. The company negotiates payment terms with suppliers on individual basis. Standard payment terms range from 15 days to 90 days following month end

Dispute resolution

Supplier queries are resolved in a timely and professional manner by a dedicated Accounts Payable Team

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

PeriodAvg daysOutside terms61+ daysFiled
H1 2026562%42%23 Jul 2026
H2 2025572%42%30 Jan 2026
H1 2025240%50%23 Feb 2026
H2 2024592%50%13 Jan 2025
H1 2024572%49%3 Jul 2024
H2 2023542%42%5 Jan 2024
H1 2023542%39%4 Jul 2023
H2 2022553%41%4 Jan 2023
H1 2022552%41%5 Jul 2022
H2 2021562%52%26 Apr 2022
H1 2021552%48%27 Apr 2022
H2 2020552%44%27 Apr 2022
H1 2020572%42%27 Apr 2022
H2 2019563%45%27 Apr 2022
H1 2019772%56%30 Jul 2019

On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status
Active
Type
Private Limited Company
Incorporated
24 Dec 1997
Registered office
2ND FLOOR OF COUNCIL OFFICE, LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY, SG6 3JF
1 outstanding charge — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 30 Sept 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Illustrative · working-capital arithmetic

What a 56-day cycle ties up

A worked example, not a finding. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 56-day vs a 15-day payment cycle.

≈ £22,000
of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 56-day cycle — about £16,200 more than the same account would carry at 15-day terms.

Late Payment Act. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 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 · Smiths Metal Centres Limited

Are they getting slower or faster?
Their reported average is steady — within about ±18 days period to period, around 56 days.
What's their typical pay point?
Their latest reports average around day 56, moving within about ±18 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.
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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 6,104 companies with a current statutory report — every sector pooled, not an average of sector medians (how the figure is built).

Report PL-03485838 · latest period to 30 Jun 2026

Verify the original Companies House file

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