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Multiplex is still among the slowest paying contractors despite cutting the time it takes to pay its bills by almost a week.

Government legislation requires major firms to report their average payment times every six months meaning a host of contractors have recently updated their payment performance data.

Of the firms required to update their payment times by 31 January, Multiplex, which is due to start work this month on a £400m scheme to turn the former US embassy in London into an upmarket hotel, was the slowest payer – taking an average of 49 days to pay its invoices.

But the contractor, which last month revealed it had nosedived to a £14m pre-tax loss in 2019, was also one of the most improved, shaving six days off its average length of payment time in the past six months.

Multiplex is understood to have been overhauling its back-office systems and processes to speed up payment since the last set of payment times were released last summer.

A spokesperson for Multiplex said: â€œWe are working through the administrative challenges we had with supplier payments and are making progress. We have taken a number of measures to improve payment data so that the vast majority of anomalies will be resolved within the next reporting period.

“This is something that is a top priority and is monitored regularly by our leadership team. On sub-contractor payments we are in a much better position with most payments being within or before their contractual due date. “

Of its peers, only Kier improved more – cutting its average payment time to 30 days, a seven-day improvement on the previous report. Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey and Costain also improved by six days each, to 42 and 32 days respectively.

> Payment times: How long do the top 50 contractors take to pay up?

Vistry Homes, the enlarged business created by last year’s merger of Bovis Homes and Galliford Try’s former housing arm, is the next slowest payer – taking an average of 48 days – although it has not published its latest figures yet.

Vinci-owned roads specialist Eurovia, which improved its payment times by three days, took an average of 46 days to settle its bills.

At the other end of the scale, Mears was the fastest payer at 18 days, followed by Barratt, Vinci and Redrow, which each paid their bills within 24 days.

Persimmon was the least improved firm – adding three days to its average payment time. But the housebuilder is still among the quickest payers, taking just 26 days to settle its bills on average.