Published reports

BIFFA TREATMENT SERVICES LIMITED

Company number: 02393309

This information is as reported by the business, and responses are in their own words.

Reporting period:

1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026

Report filed on:

30 April 2026

Approved by:

Keith Sinfield

Contracts and payments

Do any of this business's construction contracts with its suppliers include retention clauses? Yes

Payment statistics

Average time taken to pay invoices: 37 days

Total value paid:

within 30 days: £60,623,436 (68%)
in 31 to 60 days: £24,711,088 (28%)
in 61 days or more: £4,326,276 (5%)

Invoices paid:

within 30 days: 41%
in 31 to 60 days: 49%
in 61 days or more: 10%

Late and disputed:

total value of payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: £32,656,928
payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: 29%
not made in the reporting period due to a dispute: 0%

Payment terms

Shortest standard payment periods

7 days

Longest standard payment period

Answer not provided

Standard payment terms

5.1 The charges payable for the Goods and/or Services and the currency for payment shall be set out in the Order. Charges are exclusive of value added tax or any other similar tax (“VAT”) payable in Biffa’s jurisdiction of incorporation but includes all other taxes, duties and levies. If VAT is chargeable in Biffa's jurisdiction of incorporation, it will be separately identified on the invoice and will be payable by Biffa subject to the Supplier's compliance with its obligations in Condition 5.3 and without prejudice to Condition 5.4 below, as applicable.
5.2 Subject to Condition 5.4 the Supplier may invoice Biffa for the Goods and/or Services on or following the later of:-
5.2.1 any invoice or payment dates referred to in the Order; and
5.2.2 the actual delivery and/or supply date if the Goods and/or Services have been delivered in accordance with the Contract.
5.3 The Supplier will follow Biffa’s Supplier Billing and Payment Policy with respect to the mechanics of issuing and the format of the invoice and will include on the invoice Biffa’s Order number and a full breakdown of the charges (with sufficient information to enable Biffa to verify the charges).
5.4 The Supplier shall not be entitled to invoice Biffa later than six months following delivery of the Goods and/or supply of the Services to Biffa, and Biffa shall not be obliged to pay the Supplier for such Goods and/or Services if an invoice is received after such six months has elapsed.
5.5 Provided the Goods and/or Services are free from defects and supplied in accordance with the Contract and provided the invoice is submitted in accordance with the Contract, then Biffa will pay the Supplier no later than 60 days after the date on which Biffa received the Supplier's invoice (“Due Date”). If the Due Date is not a normal banking day in Biffa's place of business, then payment will be made on the following normal banking day in Biffa's place of business. If Goods and/or Services are found to be defective and/or not supplied in accordance with the Contract before payment is made, Biffa shall only pay for the Goods and/or Services that are not defective and those that are supplied in accordance with the Contract and Condition 3 shall apply to the defective and/or non-compliant Goods and/or Services.
5.6 Where the Contract allows for travel and subsistence costs to be recovered in addition to the charges, such costs shall only be recoverable to the extent that they have been reasonably incurred exclusively in connection with the provision of the Services, with the prior consent of Biffa, and in compliance with the permitted expenses policy as made available to the Supplier and updated from time to time. The payment by Biffa for costs and expenses referred to in this Condition 5 are subject to the following conditions:
5.6.1 the Supplier shall provide a detailed breakdown of the expenses incurred with respect to any expense item with a value in excess of one thousand pounds sterling (£1000); and
5.6.2 the Supplier shall provide any additional information regarding such expenses as Biffa may request from time to time.
5.7 Biffa will be entitled to set-off any liability (including amounts invoiced but not yet due) owed by it to the Supplier against any liability of the Supplier or any of its Affiliates to Biffa or any of its Affiliates under the Contract or any other agreement.
5.8 If the Supplier does not receive any undisputed invoice amount due from Biffa under the Contract on its Due Date, the Supplier will be entitled to charge interest on all undisputed overdue amounts at a rate of 2% per annum above the base lending rate for Barclays bank, accruing on a simple basis from the day the amount became overdue and ending on the day payment is received in full by the Supplier. For the avoidance of doubt, but subject always and without prejudice to the Supplier’s remedies set out in Condition 14, the Supplier shall not be entitled to withhold or suspend the supply of Goods and/or Services as consequence of any failure by Biffa to pay any amount by its Due Date.

Were there any changes to the standard payment terms in the reporting period?

Were suppliers notified or consulted about these changes before they were made?

N/A

Maximum contractual payment period agreed

60 days

No further comment provided

Any other information about payment terms

No further comment provided

Retention clauses

How does this business use retention clauses?

Retention clauses are used in specific circumstances:

Where the contracts are high value or where we consider the works to be business critical, we seek to include a retention to incentivise proper performance.

Does this business only use retention clauses in construction contracts above a specific contract sum?

Does this business use a standard percentage rate in retention clauses?

Does this business apply retention clause practices that are no more onerous than those applied to it on the same project?

Yes:

As the Operating Contractor under PFI Contracts, the consequences imposed upon us in terms of Performance Deductions and other liabilities (such as additional costs of working) will inevitably be greater than the amount of retention which we apply to our contractors. Where retention clauses are used, they are applied proportionally and in accordance with the relevant project and contractual requirements.

Releasing money under a retention clause

Process for releasing money this business has deducted or retained under a retention clause

The Contractor submits an application for payment under the NEC3 contract. Where retention is contractually due for release, payment is made following Completion and/or expiry of the Defects Liability Period, subject to satisfactory completion of the works and correction of any defects.

Is the money released in stages?

Yes:

Retention is generally released in two stages:
• part released at Completion; and
• the remaining balance released following expiry of the Defects Liability Period and completion of any outstanding remedial works.

Amount retained from suppliers in the reporting period

Amount retained stated as a percentage of the money retained from this business by its clients

Amount retained stated as a percentage of the total construction payments made by this business

Dispute resolution process

First contact is with accounts payable who will identify the vendor problem. They will then identify the person in the company who will be able to resolve the problem. The vendor is then contacted to discuss the offered resolution.

Other payment information

Has this business signed up to a code of conduct or standards on payment practices? If so, which?

For example, signatories to The Fair Payment Code must commit to paying 95% of their invoices within 60 days.

No, this business has not signed up to a code of conduct or standards on payment practices.

Does this business offer e-invoicing in relation to qualifying contracts?

This is where suppliers can electronically submit and track invoices. It's not just allowing suppliers to email them an invoice.

Does this business offer supply chain finance?

This is where a supplier who has submitted an invoice can be paid by a third-party finance provider earlier than the agreed payment date. The business would then pay the finance provider the invoiced sum.

Under its payment practices and policies, can this business deduct sums from payments under qualifying contracts as a charge for remaining on a supplier list?

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