// payment practices, as filed · company 04052522
Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd: how it pays its suppliers, from its own filing
Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd reports paying its suppliers in an average of 33 days, with 24% 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.
33 days
Average days to pay
longer than 53% of the 1,496 filers; median 31 days
24%
Paid later than agreed
a higher share than 69% of filers; median 14%
79%
Paid within 30 days
5% took longer than 60 days
The terms it declares
- Standard payment terms
- 15 to 60 days
- Maximum contractual period
- 90 days
- Paid in 31 to 60 days
- 16%
- Paid after 60 days
- 5%
- Not paid because of a dispute
- 0%
- Filed on
- 30 April 2026
Their standard terms, in their words
Severn Trent Services Operations UK Limited’s standard payment term for new contracts is 30 days; this applies across all contracts raised and would be agreed with suppliers prior to the commencement of the trading activity. On occasion, authorisation may be granted to reduce the payment terms below 30 days if there is commercial requirement/benefit in doing so. Such a change requires approval from the Commercial team. We would not attempt to impose payment terms longer than 60 days on any of our suppliers, nor do we use early settlement discounts as part of contractual arrangements.
Their explanation
N/A
Every filing since Sep 2022
Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd has filed 8 times. The share paid late is up 1 points on the previous filing, and the average days to pay up 2 days. The first filing, for the period to 30 September 2022, reported 37 days and 31% late.
| Period to | Days to pay | Paid late | Within 30 days | Over 60 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2026 | 33 | 24% | 79% | 5% |
| 30 September 2025 | 31 | 23% | 77% | 4% |
| 31 March 2025 | 32 | 25% | 75% | 5% |
| 30 September 2024 | 32 | 26% | 72% | 5% |
| 31 March 2024 | 35 | 25% | 63% | 4% |
| 30 September 2023 | 37 | 32% | 59% | 5% |
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
- yes
- When they apply retention
- Retention clauses are included in standard supplier terms and framework templates, so that retention amounts/% could be included if required on a job by job basis, but it is not standard practice to apply retention payments and it is only used in limited circumstances. There are no hard rules when retention payments are applied - the decision would be based on discussion between project managers and the commercial team, taking into account the value, the length of programme, the contractor, the nature and risks specific to the project and the retention provisions applicable to Severn Trent Se…
- On parity with their client
- Where Severn Trent Services Operations UK Limited is itself under contract when retention is applied, the retention amounts in sub-contracts would not exceed those applicable to Severn Trent Services Operations UK Limited under the main 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. Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd is above the median on that measure, so build the delay into your cash flow before you sign. The average days to pay sits over the median.
A worked example on a 30-day term: an invoice of £10,000.00 paid on this company’s average, 3 days after the final date, carries £9.66 of statutory interest at 11.75% plus the fixed sum, £109.66 in all, which the law lets you add without a clause. Run your own figures.
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. Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd 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 Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd
- How long does Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd take to pay its suppliers?
- Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd reported an average of 33 days to pay an invoice for 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026, with 79% 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 Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd pay late?
- By its own filing, 24% of Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd'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 1 points on its previous filing (23% for the period to 30 September 2025).
- Does Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd hold retention?
- Yes. Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd declares retention clauses in its construction contracts, though not in all of them. The filing's own wording is quoted above.
- Can I charge Severn Trent Services Operations UK Ltd 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 111609, 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.
// read next
- Pay less notice: what it must say and when it must arriveWhat a pay less notice must contain under s.111 of the Construction Act, the deadline (contract or 7 days before the final date), and what happens if it's late.
- Late payment interest rate UK: how the 8% over base rule works, and why the date mattersUK late payment interest is 11.75% for business invoices due from 1 July 2026. How it is set, the £40/£70/£100 fixed sums, and a worked example on £18,400.
- 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.