// payment practices, as filed · company 02444277
First Hydro Company: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
First Hydro Company reports paying its suppliers in an average of 21 days, with 17% of invoices paid later than the agreed terms, for the period 1 January 2026 to 30 June 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.
21 days
Average days to pay
longer than 16% of the 1,496 filers; median 31 days
17%
Paid later than agreed
a higher share than 56% of filers; median 14%
84%
Paid within 30 days
5% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 21 to 61 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 61 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 11%
- Paid after 60 days
- 5%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 0%
- Filed on
- 14 July 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
i. the business’ standard payment terms, which must include: Electricity trading related invoices are paid in accordance with the timescales set out in the GTMA. a. the standard contractual length of time for payment of invoices For supplies of goods and services to the power stations and visitor centre, small &/or local suppliers, are paid within 21 days of receipt of a valid invoice. b. maximum contractual payment period and any changes to the standard payment terms in the reporting period All other suppliers are paid within 28 days of receipt of a valid invoice, unless specific alternati…
Every filing since Jun 2018
First Hydro Company has filed 18 times. The share paid late is up 2 points on the previous filing, and the average days to pay unchanged. The first filing, for the period to 30 June 2018, reported 20 days and 9% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June 2026 | 21 | 17% | 84% | 5% |
| 31 December 2025 | 21 | 15% | 76% | 8% |
| 30 June 2025 | 22 | 12% | 89% | 1% |
| 27 June 2025 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 31 December 2024 | 21 | 9% | 91% | 0% |
| 30 June 2024 | 21 | 8% | 93% | 0% |
Retention
- Retention clauses in construction contracts
- yes
- Standard retention rate
- not stated
- In all construction contracts
- no
- Same terms they receive from their own client
- no
- When they apply retention
- Retention clauses are included only where considered appropriate due to the nature, complexity, risk profile, or value of the works being undertaken. The use of retention is assessed on a contract-by-contract basis and may be applied to provide security for the satisfactory completion of works and the rectification of defects during the defects liability period. Retention provisions are not automatically included in all construction contracts and are used only where commercially justified and agreed between the parties.
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. First Hydro Company 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. First Hydro Company 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 First Hydro Company
- How long does First Hydro Company take to pay its suppliers?
- First Hydro Company reported an average of 21 days to pay an invoice for 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026, with 84% of invoices paid within 30 days and 5% taking longer than 60 days. The official 2025 figure for large construction businesses is 33 days.
- Does First Hydro Company pay late?
- By its own filing, 17% of First Hydro Company'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 up 2 points on its previous filing (15% for the period to 31 December 2025).
- Does First Hydro Company hold retention?
- Yes. First Hydro Company declares retention clauses in its construction contracts, though not in all of them. The filing's own wording is quoted above.
- Can I charge First Hydro Company 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 112823, 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.
- Every company that files on construction contractsThe full A to Z, 1,496 filers, each with its own page.