// payment practices, as filed · company 10151730
Reach South Academy Trust: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
Reach South Academy Trust reports paying its suppliers in an average of 13 days, with 8% 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.
13 days
Average days to pay
longer than 5% of the 1,496 filers; median 31 days
8%
Paid later than agreed
a higher share than 29% of filers; median 14%
97%
Paid within 30 days
1% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 30 to 31 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 30 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 2%
- Paid after 60 days
- 1%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 8%
- Filed on
- 30 September 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
Standard terms of 30 days from the latter of; date of invoice or receipt of invoice, for all qualifying contracts.
Their explanation
N/A
Every filing since Feb 2020
Reach South Academy Trust has filed 14 times. The share paid late is down 1 points on the previous filing, and the average days to pay down 2 days. The first filing, for the period to 29 February 2020, reported 13 days and 3% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 August 2026 | 13 | 8% | 97% | 1% |
| 28 February 2026 | 15 | 9% | 94% | 1% |
| 31 August 2025 | 13 | 7% | 97% | 1% |
| 28 February 2025 | 14 | 6% | 97% | 1% |
| 31 August 2024 | 16 | 7% | 96% | 2% |
| 29 February 2024 | 22 | 7% | 94% | 3% |
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
- We use retention clauses on some construction projects. There are no set criteria for applying retention clauses but each project is assessed based on a combination of factors including project value, complexity and risk. We do not have a minimum contract value for imposing a retention clause. The retention value depends on the form of contract being used. Eg JCT Minor Works, JCT Intermediate Form, JCT Design and Build etc. The value is either 5% or 3% which reduces by 50% at Practical Completion. The remainder is paid at the end of the rectification period, subject to satisfactory making go…
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. Reach South Academy Trust 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. Reach South Academy Trust 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 Reach South Academy Trust
- How long does Reach South Academy Trust take to pay its suppliers?
- Reach South Academy Trust reported an average of 13 days to pay an invoice for 1 March 2026 to 31 August 2026, with 97% 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 Reach South Academy Trust pay late?
- By its own filing, 8% of Reach South Academy 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 1 points on its previous filing (9% for the period to 28 February 2026).
- Does Reach South Academy Trust hold retention?
- Yes. Reach South Academy Trust declares retention clauses in its construction contracts, though not in all of them. The filing's own wording is quoted above.
- Can I charge Reach South Academy 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 117192, 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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