// payment practices, as filed · company 09482529
Inspire Learning Trust: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
Inspire Learning Trust reports paying its suppliers in an average of 21 days, with 17% of invoices paid later than the agreed terms, for the period 1 March 2026 to 31 August 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%
88%
Paid within 30 days
2% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 5 to 60 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 60 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 10%
- Paid after 60 days
- 2%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 17%
- Filed on
- 27 September 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
Most contracts have standard payment terms of 30 days, however some small businesses have an agreement to receive payment in shorter periods. We also have suppliers with 14 days payment terms these include the LEA and supply agencies (for education supply staff). We have also some smaller businesses that require payment in a shorter period of time which is short as 5 days which we try and accommodate on our weekly payment cycles that we complete each Wednesday for payment every Friday.
Their explanation
We continue to make every effort to chase suppliers for invoices and ensure payments are made as soon as reasonably possible. In July 2024, we implemented a new invoice automation system to streamline invoice matching and statement processing. In September 2026 we have strengthened our systems so that our invoice automation system is directly API linked to our Finance system. These systems enable us to proactively follow up with suppliers regarding missing invoices and pay suppliers promptly. As mentioned in our previous reports, we have now been using this system for over 2 years, and it ha…
Every filing since Feb 2024
Inspire Learning Trust has filed 6 times. The share paid late is down 2 points on the previous filing, and the average days to pay unchanged. The first filing, for the period to 29 February 2024, reported 27 days and 24% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2026 | 21 | 17% | 88% | 2% |
| 28 February 2026 | 21 | 19% | 89% | 1% |
| 31 August 2025 | 20 | 19% | 90% | 1% |
| 28 February 2025 | 22 | 17% | 89% | 2% |
| 31 August 2024 | 31 | 26% | 74% | 8% |
| 29 February 2024 | 27 | 24% | 85% | 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
- These are only included in large Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) projects to ensure any snagging is completed once the project is concluded due to size and cost of each project. We have entered 0% for this period because no active construction payments were made during this reporting timeframe. We continue to hold retention sums from projects successfully completed in previous reporting periods, which will be released in accordance with those historical contract terms.
- On parity with their client
- This is set by the contract that the contracted advisers support us with based on their technical advice given when procuring the contract.
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. Inspire Learning Trust 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. Inspire Learning Trust 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 Inspire Learning Trust
- How long does Inspire Learning Trust take to pay its suppliers?
- Inspire Learning Trust reported an average of 21 days to pay an invoice for 1 March 2026 to 31 August 2026, with 88% 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 Inspire Learning Trust pay late?
- By its own filing, 17% of Inspire Learning Trust'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 down 2 points on its previous filing (19% for the period to 28 February 2026).
- Does Inspire Learning Trust hold retention?
- Yes. Inspire Learning Trust 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 Inspire Learning Trust 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 117007, 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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