// payment practices, as filed · company 04129273
Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company reports paying its suppliers in an average of 27 days, with 8% of invoices paid later than the agreed terms, for the period 1 October 2025 to 31 March 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.
27 days
Average days to pay
longer than 33% of the 1,496 filers; median 31 days
8%
Paid later than agreed
a higher share than 29% of filers; median 14%
92%
Paid within 30 days
1% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 30 to 60 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 60 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 7%
- Paid after 60 days
- 1%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 3%
- Filed on
- 30 April 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
Subject to the proper performance of the contract, invoices which are correct in all material respects, properly addressed and bearing the Purchase Order number shall be paid by NATS within 30 days of receipt or as otherwise agreed in writing.
Their explanation
In order to be processed, invoices must quote a valid purchase order number and must be addressed to: NATS Ltd Office 202 & 203 Regus, Westpoint 4 Redheughs Rigg South Gyle Edinburgh EH12 9DQ Invoices must either be submitted electronically as an e-invoice on the Ariba platform (for Purchase Orders issued via Ariba Network) or provided in PDF form by email to plservices@nats.co.uk. NATS no longer regularly monitors receipt of paper invoices which are delivered by post. Invoices which are not correctly addressed with a valid purchase order and/or not sent to NATS in the manner described ab…
Every filing since Sep 2018
Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company has filed 16 times. The share paid late is down 3 points on the previous filing, and the average days to pay down 1 days. The first filing, for the period to 30 September 2018, reported 39 days and 57% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2026 | 27 | 8% | 92% | 1% |
| 30 September 2025 | 28 | 11% | 90% | 2% |
| 31 March 2025 | 27 | 8% | 90% | 1% |
| 30 September 2024 | 30 | 9% | 80% | 2% |
| 31 March 2024 | 29 | 8% | 78% | 1% |
| 30 September 2023 | 31 | 8% | 73% | 2% |
Retention
- Retention clauses in construction contracts
- yes
- Standard retention rate
- 3%
- In all construction contracts
- no
- Same terms they receive from their own client
- no
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. Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company is at or below the median on that measure. 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. Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company is at or inside the sector figure on days. Its late share is at or below 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 Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company
- How long does Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company take to pay its suppliers?
- Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company reported an average of 27 days to pay an invoice for 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026, with 92% of invoices paid within 30 days and 1% taking longer than 60 days. The official 2025 figure for large construction businesses is 33 days.
- Does Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company pay late?
- By its own filing, 8% of Nats (En Route) Public Ltd 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 down 3 points on its previous filing (11% for the period to 30 September 2025).
- Does Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company hold retention?
- Yes. Nats (En Route) Public Ltd Company 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 Nats (En Route) Public Ltd 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 111417, 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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