Build UK retentions benchmarks: payment risk insights for project teams
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Build UK has published its first benchmarks on cash retentions, showing tier one contractor members withhold an average 2% and pass on 74% of retentions imposed by their clients to their own supply chains, absorbing 26% themselves. Since 2018, average payment times for these contractors have fallen from 45 to 29 days, with invoices paid within 60 days rising from 82% to 96% under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations. The data will act as a baseline as the Commercial Payments Bill, which includes a ban on retention clauses, moves through Parliament.
Technical Brief
- Build UK’s new reporting tracks three metrics: use of retentions, retention % of payments, and % passed down.
- Retentions are explicitly framed as a cashflow constraint across all tiers, not just subcontractors and suppliers.
- Jo Fautley links removal of retentions to a need for more effective, upfront quality management mechanisms.
- Commentary from the Construction Leadership Council ties the benchmarks to “business model reform” and commercial risk allocation.
Our Take
With Build UK’s tier one members now averaging only 2% retention and 96% of invoices paid within 60 days, subcontractors will likely use these benchmarks as leverage when negotiating with non-member clients across the United Kingdom, especially on public-sector and framework work.
The Construction Leadership Council’s expanded role in government–industry coordination, highlighted in the 24 February 2026 board expansion piece, means these retentions benchmarks could be pulled into wider UK policy discussions on fair payment alongside net zero and productivity initiatives.
In our Policy coverage, payment-practice benchmarks like this are still relatively rare compared with safety or net-zero standards, so Build UK’s data gives one of the clearer quantitative reference points for UK contractors seeking to evidence ‘good practice’ in prequalification and contract award processes.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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