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Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk

How long does First Utility Limited take to pay its suppliers?

CRN 05070887 · Electricity & gas · 11 statutory reports on record · period to 30 Jun 2023

24days
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.

Share
Dated record. The latest report covers a period ending 30 Jun 2023 and the company hasn’t filed since (it may have dropped below the reporting threshold). Treat the figures as historical.

On the public register · Companies House

Company record

Status
Active
Type
Private Limited Company
Incorporated
11 Mar 2004
Registered office
UK HOUSE 5TH FLOOR, LONDON, W1D 1NN
1 outstanding charge — secured borrowing registered Accounts due 31 Jan 2027

Open the full record at Companies House.

Terms vs reality

Stated terms: 5–90 days. Reported average: 24.

Stated terms5–90d
+19 days
Reported avg24d

At a glance

The key figures

5–90d
their stated terms
18%
invoices paid outside terms
+3d
slower over the window
±5d
steady pattern

Vs peers · latest reported averages

fasterslower
Faster than 58% of the 161 large companies reporting in electricity & gas.

The pattern

Getting slower

Average days to pay across their last 6 statutory reports.

terms 5d
21
21
20
29
30
24
H2 2020H1 2021H2 2021H1 2022H2 2022H1 2023

Where their supplier invoices land · latest period

within 30 days 85% 31–60 days 10% 61+ days 5%

The read · computed from their figures

First Utility Limited has filed 11 statutory payment periods (earliest H1 2018). Their latest report puts the average at 24 days against stated terms of 5–90 days.

The direction is slower: from 21 to 24 days over the window — about 3 days slower.

In the latest period 18% of invoices were paid outside their agreed terms, and 5% landed 61+ days out.

In their own words · from the filing

Standard payment terms

Suppliers that fall within licenced conditions typically have invoice payment terms of 10-14 days. Most other suppliers have 30 days from receipt of a correctly presented invoice. Invoice receipt is defined as a complete, fiscally correct invoice delivered at the remittance address specified in the contract / agreement / purchase order. For electronic invoices, invoice receipt is when the invoice data is received within the Shell Energy Retail Ltd (SERL) system.

Dispute resolution

SERL seeks to advise suppliers promptly of any disputes or reasons why an invoice will not be paid in accordance with the agreed terms. Invoices that are subject to dispute will not be paid until resolution of the dispute. Depending on the issue, Procurement or the Requistioner may be involved to resolve any disputes. Once resolved, payment will be made in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Every statutory report on record

Most recent first.

PeriodAvg daysOutside terms61+ daysFiled
H1 20232418%5%24 Jul 2023
H2 20223025%7%20 Jan 2023
H1 20222926%5%28 Jul 2022
H2 20212021%4%27 Jan 2022
H1 20212116%4%27 Jul 2021
H2 20202113%3%27 Jan 2021
H1 20202129%3%30 Jul 2020
H2 20191929%2%1 Apr 2020
H1 20191930%2%29 Jul 2019
H2 20182237%3%29 Jan 2019
H1 20182355%3%27 Jul 2018

Working-capital effect

What a 24-day cycle ties up

Illustrative. On a hypothetical £12k/month account, at a 24-day vs a 5-day payment cycle.

≈ £9,500
of invoicing outstanding at any one time on a 24-day cycle — about £7,500 more than the same account would carry at 5-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 3 days slower over the window (21 → 24 days).
What's their typical pay point?
Their latest reports average around day 24, moving within about ±5 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 First Utility Limited (free)

Their next payment report is due ≈ 26 Jan 2024. 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-05070887 · latest period to 30 Jun 2023

Verify the original Companies House file

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