Research and analysis

Late payments research: impact on the UK economy

This research estimates the total economic cost of late payments and their impact on the UK economy.

• From: Department for Business and Trade
• Published: 30 July 2025

Documents

Late payments research: estimating the economic cost of late payments and their impact on the UK economy

PDF, 1.15 MB, 79 pages

Late payments research: infographic

PDF, 112 KB, 1 page

Details

This research includes:

• a quantitative survey of businesses affected by late payments, asking how late payments impacts their day-to-day operations and the mitigating actions they might take

• econometric analysis of secondary data to assess the impact of late payments on business outcomes, like survival and investment

• a quantification exercise which combines findings from the quantitative survey and econometric analysis and estimates the total economic cost for UK businesses and the wider economy

Published 30 July 2025