There were 1.5 million overdue invoices on the books of East Anglian 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 East Anglia 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 3% (from 1.56 million in Q1 2025).
There were also around 190,000 companies in the region 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 by 15% to 931 cases, compared to the final quarter of 2025 when there were 811 cases. However, levels were down by 8% compared to Q1 2025 when there were 1,018 instances.
R3 Eastern Chair Hayley Watson, an appointment-taking director at FRP Advisory in the region, 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 East Anglia is one of the few UK regions to see a slight 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 nationally 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 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.
