Small firms are being ‘plagued’ by a poor payment culture, with some respected household brand names ‘abusing’ their suppliers, it was claimed last night.
The accusations came as it emerged that US consumer giant Heinz has more than doubled the length of time it is making small British suppliers wait for bills to be settled.Leading lobby group the Federation of Small Businesses said large companies were being ‘tarnished’ by their treatment of small suppliers and that their behaviour is damaging the reputation of business as a whole.
Leading lobby group the Federation of Small Businesses @fsb_policy said large companies were being ‘tarnished’ by their treatment of small suppliers and that their behaviour is damaging the reputation of business as a whole.
The FSB has called a meeting tomorrow with politicians from the main parties to stamp out poor payment practice. The baked beans and ketchup giant, owned by billionaire US investor Warren Buffett and private equity firm 3G Capital, is understood to have told suppliers they must wait up to 97 days for their invoices to be paid, up from 45 days previously.In a separate development, beer company AB InBev, which brews Stella Artois and Boddingtons, was slammed for routinely taking up to four months to pay its small suppliers.
Brewpack, based in Egham, Surrey, which supplies conveyor belt systems to drink manufacturers, told the BBC that it could no longer afford to take orders from AB Inbev because of delays in payment. ‘Not a month goes by without another leading company or brand being tarnished by the way they treat their suppliers, many of which are small and micro businesses.
‘Tarnished’: Heinz has more than doubled the length of time it is making small British suppliers wait for bills to be settled