Real Estate, Hospitality and ICT are the UK sectors hardest hit by late payment, according to analysis by Sidetrade. Sidetrade’s Tracker report has found that 38% of invoices are at least ten days overdue as the UK is beginning to feel the effects of lockdown exit.
As of 25th May, the UK sectors hardest hit by payment delays tied to the crisis are:
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, as well as ICT are areas where late payment rate were already high prior to the pandemic: 56% and 53% respectively.
Sectors least impacted by the crisis include Food industry (19% invoices over 10 days overdue), retail (22%) and manufacturing (23%).
The tracker shows a strong correlation between payment behaviour and economic activity with 38% unpaid invoices as of 25th May 2020, the UK has seen a slight improvement in customer-supplier relations. This is the first positive effect of lockdown exit.
Nonetheless, the unpaid rate remains extremely high, representing a threat for many businesses. Late payment deterioration in the UK rose +26%.
For the first time, all six countries tracked showed a significant improvement, even though the unpaid rate is still high. The UK has the highest rate (39% unpaid), whereas the Netherlands can boast the lowest figure: 18% unpaid, not far from their pre-pandemic rate of 15%.