FREETHS LLP

The business has contracts for the lease of property, equipment, software and for provision of services in connection with the operation of the business. The payment period and terms vary and resemble the normal commercial terms for these form of contracts. The business has contracts with counsel and experts for the provision of services and advice on behalf of clients. In line with industry practice these contracts are settled promptly when the client makes funds available for their settlement. All other qualifying contracts are on 30 day standard payment terms. Freeths standard terms provide that it will pay all invoices within the agreed terms of any formal agreement and in the case of other contracts within 30 days of the invoice date.

If the business included professional disbursement contracts in its payment statistics and it calculated the payment period as the date from the date of invoice to the date of payment then the following would be the payment statistics:

Average time taken to pay invoices = 30 days

Invoices paid:
- within 30 days = 76%
- in 31 to 60 days = 14%
- in 61 days or more = 10%

As the agreed payment terms for professional disbursements are on a pay when paid by the client basis and the firm settles these promptly within 2 days in accordance with Solicitor Accounts Rules, professional disbursements will always be paid within term. No professional disbursements will appear in the "Invoices due but not paid within agreed terms" statistic. This statistic will fall with the inclusion of professional disbursements in payment statistics. The revised statistic with the inclusion of professional disbursements becomes:

Invoices due but not paid within agreed terms = 15%

Any disagreement with payment for contracted services is advised to the supplier by the requisitioner/approver of the service. It is the responsibility of this person to resolve any disputes and approve any resolved payment.