Published reports

EQUANS SPECIALIST CONTRACTING UK LIMITED

Company number: SC087174

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

Reporting period:

1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026

Report filed on:

31 July 2026

Approved by:

Mark Gallacher

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: 42 days

Total value paid:

within 30 days: £31,907,222 (41%)
in 31 to 60 days: £42,107,104 (54%)
in 61 days or more: £4,318,065 (6%)

Invoices paid:

within 30 days: 39%
in 31 to 60 days: 56%
in 61 days or more: 5%

Late and disputed:

total value of payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: £16,726,736
payments due in the reporting period which have not been paid within the agreed period: 13%
not made in the reporting period due to a dispute: 0%

Payment terms

Shortest standard payment periods

30 days

Longest standard payment period

60 days

Standard payment terms

The statistical information provided includes payments to both suppliers and subcontractors. All invoices received require a valid purchase order number. Any invoice received without a valid purchase order number is returned unpaid with a request to resubmit the invoice with the required information.

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:

Equans Sci Tech's governance hold a template Subcontract form which by default shows 0 retention but it is a common practice that we apply a 5% retention by default, in line with our own retention applied by our clients.
Should the subcontractor come back we may negotiate a lower retention of 3%.
However, we have been implementing a new process in the past 2 years whereby we aim to obtain performance bond instead of retention for all contracts above 2M.

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:

Several forms of performance security exist :
1- Retention Bond
2- Performance Bond
3- Defect liability bond
4- Parent company guarantees
etc...

The main factor that explains the gap between what we withhold from our supply chain vs what we are withheld ourselves by our client is the possible ways to hold money from one party.

2 out of our last 6 DC projects had retention applied to our Client Contracts, the 4 others had a performance bond instead.
In the meantime we still hold retention from most of our subcontractor though we have (as mention in Q1) initiated a transition to performance bond to replicate our client's methodology (for contracts above 2M).

Releasing money under a retention clause

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

Our standard T&C for Retention :
The first retention release date is: *[ ] (unless otherwise stated it shall be after practical completion of the Sub-Contract Works)

The second retention release date is: *[ ] (unless otherwise stated it shall be 12 months after practical completion of the Sub-Contract Works)

Is the money released in stages?

Yes:

Amount retained from suppliers in the reporting period

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

184%

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

Dispute resolution process

The company is committed to fair dealing with all of its supply chain members, and transparency and swift resolution of disputed items are key principles in this process. The company has dedicated teams, based at a UK Group Shared Service Centre, for dealing with all supplier and subcontractor invoice processing, queries and statement reconciliations. Formal Dispute Resolution Processes are included as terms within many contractual agreements signed with suppliers and subcontractors. The company makes every effort to resolve disputes and queries in a timely manner and within agreed payment terms.

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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