Yorkshire businesses advised to prioritise credit control as R3 report shows rise in number of companies with overdue invoices

Late payment pressures intensified for Yorkshire businesses in the first quarter of 2026, with a growing number of companies carrying overdue invoices on their books, according to a new report from R3, the UK’s trade body for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency professionals.

An analysis by R3 revealed there were 146,000 companies in the region carrying overdue invoices, an increase of 3% compared to the same period last year when around 142,500 companies were affected.

R3’s latest Quarterly Business Health report, based on data from Creditsafe, also shows the region saw a slight decrease in the total number of late payments by 2% (from 1.67 million in Q1 2025 to 1.6 million last quarter) bucking the national trend which saw total numbers of overdue invoices rise by 3%.

In positive news, insolvency related activity in the region – including administration and voluntary and compulsory liquidations – decreased by 10% last quarter to 666 cases, compared to the Q1 2025 when were there 738 cases and by 2% compared to the final quarter of 2025 when there were 678 cases.

Newly appointed R3 Yorkshire chair, Jodie Wildridge, who is also a barrister at Kings Chambers in Leeds, commented:

“Our latest Business Health report highlights an early warning sign for local businesses, with more companies being affected by late payments. More than 146,000 companies are carrying overdue invoices, showing that day to day cashflow remains under real strain.

“Late payments are a significant contributor to business failure, and mounting arrears can quickly turn manageable cashflow issues into a wider crisis, particularly for small and medium sized companies. With businesses also facing higher energy and fuel costs linked to global uncertainty, our members expect pressure to intensify as the year progresses.

“With this in mind, business owners should prioritise credit control and seek professional advice early if they begin to struggle, rather than waiting until problems become unmanageable.”

The government states that late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion each year and lead to the closure of 38 UK businesses every day, while announcing plans to tackle the issue.