'Cashflow remains under real strain and businesses should remain vigilant': 167,000 overdue invoices hit Northern Ireland firms as late payment pressures persist
Late payments continue to weigh on Northern Ireland firms despite a quarterly decline in overdue invoices
There were 167,000 overdue invoices on the books of Northern Ireland businesses in the first quarter of 2026, putting pressure on company cashflows, according to a new report from R3, the UK’s trade body for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency professionals.
R3’s latest Quarterly Business Health report, which is based on data from Creditsafe, found that despite this, businesses in Northern Ireland bucked the overall UK trend in rising late payments by being one of the few regions to record a decline in the number of overdue invoices for the quarter, which were down by 11% (from 187,500 in Q1 2025).
There were also around 25,000 companies in the country with overdue invoices on their books last quarter, which was a similar figure to Q1 2025.
Meanwhile, quarterly insolvency‑related activity in the region - including administration and voluntary and compulsory liquidations – increased slightly from 61 cases in Q1 2026 to 66 cases in the first quarter of 2026 – an increase of 8%. However, levels were down by 35% on the final quarter of 2025 when there were 102 instances.
Scott Murray, recently appointed chair of R3 in Northern Ireland and managing director at Keenan CF, said: “Our latest Business Health report highlights an early warning sign for local businesses, with a substantial number of companies being affected by late payments.
"Although Northern Ireland saw a decline in numbers of overdue invoices, day‑to‑day cashflow remains under real strain and businesses should remain vigilant.
“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 number of overdue invoices affecting UK businesses in Q1 2026 rose to 17.48 million, up 3% on the same period last year, with the West Midlands recording the highest number (3.05 million), followed by Greater London (2.91 million) and Scotland (2 million).
The Department for Business and Trade states that late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion each year and leads to the closure of 38 UK businesses every day, while announcing plans to work with the Northern Ireland government to tackle the issue.
Read the full R3 report.