// payment practices, as filed · company 04793659
Canterbury Christ Church University: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
Canterbury Christ Church University reports paying its suppliers in an average of 26 days, with 40% of invoices paid later than the agreed terms, for the period 1 February 2026 to 31 July 2026. Across the 1,496 companies that report on construction contracts, the median is 31 days and 14% late. Every figure below is the company’s own, approved by a director and published on the government register; this page reproduces it and says what it means for a subcontractor.
26 days
Average days to pay
longer than 31% of the 1,496 filers; median 31 days
40%
Paid later than agreed
a higher share than 88% of filers; median 14%
60%
Paid within 30 days
2% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 14 to 30 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 30 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 38%
- Paid after 60 days
- 2%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 0%
- Filed on
- 3 September 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
From 30 days and on next available payment run- www.canterbury.ac.uk/purchasing/purchasing.aspx
Every filing since Jan 2018
Canterbury Christ Church University has filed 18 times. The share paid late is unchanged on the previous filing, and the average days to pay unchanged. The first filing, for the period to 31 January 2018, reported 19 days and 14% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 July 2026 | 26 | 40% | 60% | 2% |
| 31 January 2026 | 26 | 40% | 61% | 2% |
| 31 July 2025 | 32 | 40% | 60% | 3% |
| 31 January 2025 | 28 | 45% | 55% | 3% |
| 31 July 2024 | 24 | 11% | 89% | 3% |
| 31 January 2024 | 26 | 12% | 88% | 4% |
Retention
- Retention clauses in construction contracts
- yes
- Standard retention rate
- 3%
- In all construction contracts
- no
- Same terms they receive from their own client
- yes
- When they apply retention
- We use JCT Design & Build Contracts or Intermediate Contracts with or without contractor design for our development projects. As such we use the standard clauses and processes set out and contained within the JCT suite of contracts documents. We hold the full retention until practical completion is reached and then 50% of the retention during the 12-month making good liability period / rectification period and release this sum by final certificate of rectification. Note monthly / regular intervals valuation take place that determine the value of work completed at the stage reached from which…
- On parity with their client
- We use JCT Design & Build Contracts or Intermediate Contracts with or without contractor design for our development projects. As such we use the standard clauses and processes set out and contained within the JCT suite of contracts documents. We hold the full retention until practical completion is reached and then 50% of the retention during the 12-month making good liability period / rectification period and release this sum by final certificate of rectification. Note monthly / regular intervals valuation take place that determine the value of work completed at the stage reached from which…
What this means if you are pricing work for them
The share paid later than agreed is the number to read first, because a short term makes an invoice late sooner and a long one hides lateness inside the term. Canterbury Christ Church University is above the median on that measure, so build the delay into your cash flow before you sign. The average days to pay sits under the median.
On a 30-day term this company’s average lands inside the term, so a late invoice is the exception. When one is late, the calculator shows what statutory interest and the fixed sum add, which the law lets you charge without a clause.
Against the official benchmark: the Department for Business and Trade’s statistics for 2025, published 14 July 2026, put large construction businesses at 33 days to pay with 14% of invoices late by number (13% by value), and all large businesses at 32 days and 15% late. Canterbury Christ Church University is at or inside the sector figure on days. Its late share is above the sector figure.
What the register does not show: it is self-reported, large companies only, and the filing covers the whole company, not your contract. Read it alongside the notice rules that decide what you are actually owed, and keep your own dates.
Questions subcontractors ask about Canterbury Christ Church University
- How long does Canterbury Christ Church University take to pay its suppliers?
- Canterbury Christ Church University reported an average of 26 days to pay an invoice for 1 February 2026 to 31 July 2026, with 60% of invoices paid within 30 days and 2% taking longer than 60 days. The official 2025 figure for large construction businesses is 33 days.
- Does Canterbury Christ Church University pay late?
- By its own filing, 40% of Canterbury Christ Church University's invoices were paid later than the agreed terms, against 14% across large construction businesses in 2025 and a median of 14% among the 1,496 companies on this register that declare construction contracts. That is unchanged on its previous filing (40% for the period to 31 January 2026).
- Does Canterbury Christ Church University hold retention?
- Yes. Canterbury Christ Church University declares retention clauses in its construction contracts at a standard rate of 3%, though not in all of them. The filing's own wording is quoted above.
- Can I charge Canterbury Christ Church University interest on a late invoice?
- Yes, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, from the day after the final date for payment, at 8% over the Bank of England base rate plus a fixed sum per invoice, without any clause in the contract. The calculator works it out for your figures.
Source: the company’s own report on the government’s payment practices service, report 116779, made under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Register copy taken 2 October 2026; comparisons are against the latest filing of each of the 1,496 companies declaring construction contracts. Figures are as filed, not judged. Not legal advice.
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- Which main contractors pay late? What the payment practices register saysTen UK main contractors' filed payment figures: average days to pay, share paid late, report links. Median of 1,496 construction filers: 31 days, 14% late.
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