Their own payment-practices filing · gov.uk
Harpercollins Publishers Limited pays suppliers in 29 days on average — inside its 120-day stated terms
Their H1 2026 filing puts the average 91 days inside their stated 120-day term.
- Their stated terms
- 120 days
- Paid outside agreed terms
- 1% of invoices
- Paid after 61+ days
- 8%
- Reporting period
- 29 Dec 2025 – 28 Jun 2026
- Source
- their gov.uk filing, filed 7 Jul 2026
Self-reported figures from their statutory filing. How this is compiled.
Terms vs reality · their H1 2026 filing
Paid 91 days inside the 120-day term they state
Where their invoices landed · share of all invoices
The pattern · last 6 of 18 reports
Holding steady around 29 days
The read · computed from their figures
Harpercollins Publishers Limited's H1 2026 filing puts their average at 29 days against stated terms of 120 days; 1% of invoices were paid outside agreed terms and 8% took 61 days or longer. Filed 7 Jul 2026.
The pattern is steady — their reported average moves within about ±2 days period to period.
On the latest reported averages: Faster than 50% of the 476 large companies reporting in information & communication.
That is 18 statutory periods on record (earliest H2 2017) — a historical record, not a promise for a new invoice.
In their own words · from the filing
Standard payment terms
We generally pay author expenses on immediate terms, hence 0 days as shortest standard term. We may also pay immediately to secure goods or services for events etc. Longest payment terms are 12 weeks from end of month so have used 120 days in this field since it requires a number to be entered.
Dispute resolution
Any invoice that is in dispute is referred to the relevant buyer/approver. AP may check in on progress of the dispute but this must be resolved between the supplier and their HarperCollins Publishers contact. AP does not have the appropriate knowledge of whether the goods or services have been delivered to the expected quality and therefore is not able to resolve disputes.
Other information
1) Most frequently used payment terms are 30 days from invoice date 2) Exceptions are made for author expenses which are generally processed as immediate payment terms 3) Maximum payment terms – a. POs quote 90 days but the standard at vendor creation is 30 days b. We make payments on account to some key suppliers. c. Occasionally, we may make immediate payments for various reasons e.g. to secure goods, bookings, venues and other items for author tours or other events. 4) Some suppliers e.g. utilities are paid by Direct Debit. Corresponding invoices are marked as paid when the funds are deducted from our account, not when the invoice is received. 5) When calculating the average number of days from receipt to payment we have calculated from scan date to payment date plus an ad
Every statutory report on record
Most recent first.
| Period | Avg days | Outside terms | 61+ days | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 2026 | 29 | 1% | 8% | 7 Jul 2026 |
| H2 2025 | 29 | 1% | 7% | 27 Jan 2026 |
| H1 2025 | 28 | 0% | 7% | 11 Jul 2025 |
| H2 2024 | 26 | 1% | 4% | 24 Jan 2025 |
| H1 2024 | 27 | 1% | 5% | 14 Jul 2024 |
| H2 2023 | 29 | 1% | 6% | 29 Jan 2024 |
| H1 2023 | 30 | 1% | 7% | 28 Jul 2023 |
| H1 2023 | 30 | 1% | 8% | 30 Jan 2023 |
| H1 2022 | 29 | 1% | 7% | 1 Aug 2022 |
| H2 2021 | 29 | 1% | 9% | 25 Jan 2022 |
| H1 2021 | 27 | 1% | 7% | 23 Jul 2021 |
| H2 2020 | 29 | 1% | 8% | 26 Jan 2021 |
| H1 2020 | 27 | 1% | 7% | 21 Jul 2020 |
| H2 2019 | 30 | 1% | 8% | 30 Jan 2020 |
| H1 2019 | 29 | 1% | 7% | 29 Jul 2019 |
| H2 2018 | 36 | 46% | 17% | 30 Jan 2019 |
| H1 2018 | 33 | 6% | 9% | 27 Jul 2018 |
| H2 2017 | 37 | 4% | 16% | 29 Jan 2018 |
On the public register · Companies House
Company record
- Status
- Active
- Type
- Private Limited Company
- Incorporated
- 29 Nov 1949
- Registered office
- 1 ROBROYSTON GATE, GLASGOW, G33 1JN
Quick answers · Harpercollins Publishers Limited
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Is this official government data?
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-SC027389 · latest period to 28 Jun 2026
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