Burnley firm claims County Council owe hundreds of thousands in overdue payments

A firm that supplies building security services to Lancashire County Council claims the local authority is repeatedly late paying its bills – and that some invoices have been outstanding for more than two years.

Burnley-based KeyPlus says it was owed around £465,000 by the end of last month – £285,000 of which had been due for more than 30 days.

The company holds a contract with County Hall for opening up and locking public facilities such as schools and community centres.   The business operates across 550 sites – and says it has even had to threaten to down tools in order to get paid.

The county council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it was “in regular discussions” with KeyPlus, but that it was unable to address commercially-sensitive matters in public.

The firm is now charging the authority penalties and interest – and has referred the case to the Office of the Small Business Commissioner, which deals with late payments.

KeyPlus has worked for the county council for seven years, but says it will not bid to renew its contract – claiming the authority’s tardiness in settling its account has damaged the business.

The company’s chief executive and founder Brian Curran said: “Throughout the entire contract term, we have experienced repeated and persistent late payment issues. On several occasions, the situation became so severe that we formally notified the council that services would be placed on stop unless overdue invoices were paid.

“This is not a one-off issue or an isolated administrative delay – it has been a recurring problem since 2019.

“Like many small and medium-sized enterprises, we are not backed by unlimited reserves. Persistent non-payment on this scale creates enormous pressure on cash flow and day-to-day operations.

“We have suppliers, wages, HMRC liabilities and operational commitments to meet ourselves – and there are times when we are effectively forced to decide which suppliers get paid and which do not, simply because of unreliable payment from our largest client.”

The firm says that under the terms of its current contract with the county council, correctly-invoiced amounts should be paid within 30 days.   It claims that some overdue bills date back to April 2024 and have never been disputed.

“Why should small business owners have to endure the stress, worry and sleepless nights [over] when they will get paid…just due to inefficiencies at best and incompetence at worst?” Mr. Curran asked.

“While I remain hopeful that the outstanding matters can now finally be resolved professionally and amicably, I have taken the decision that KeyPlus will not tender for the next contract. We would rather focus on clients where there is greater financial certainty, stronger communication and a more sustainable long-term working relationship,” he added

In response to the claims made by KeyPlus, a Lancashire County Council spokesman said: “We have been in regular discussions with this company.

“We are unable to discuss commercial or contractually sensitive information in the public arena. However, we have and will continue to work constructively with the supplier in question to resolve any issues.”