Subbies concern over Taylor Wimpey payment timing

Contractors in Taylor Wimpey's supply chain risk having payments withheld by the housebuilder before its half-year results, CJ has learned.

Taylor Wimpey is one of several high profile housebuilders whose half-year results will be scrutinised by the City over the coming weeks. Housebuilders' write-downs are expected to be significant as the values of their land holdings fall.

It is understood that a group instruction has been issued within Taylor Wimpey to strictly manage cashflow within the business.

Specialist contractor industry bodies said they feared this would mean that payments due to subcontractors could be withheld, with one source claiming payments could be frozen until July.

A Taylor Wimpey spokeswoman denied the claim. "I spoke to Taylor Wimpey on Friday and they confirmed that it's not correct. They are paying invoices before 1 July," she said.

But claims of the instruction's existence continued to emerge on Monday.

Matthew McAdams, president of the Federation of Plastering and Drywall Contractors claimed that a regional director of Taylor Wimpey had confirmed to him that the entire group had received a message to manage cashflow.

"The West Yorkshire region are delaying payment past the end of June and the North East and North Yorks regions are all telling me the same thing - that the instruction is to withhold your money and keep it in the bank for the half-year," he claimed.

"There will be a great deal of contractors out there who will be greatly upset about this. For all of us it's either our half-year or our year-end, so we want the money in the bank, while the main contractor is sitting on it," he added.

CJ put the claim that the regional director was aware of this to Taylor Wimpey, but no-one has been available to comment.

A date for Taylor Wimpey's half-year results has not been fixed. A trading statement is expected on 2 July.