Businesses fear threat of
‘cowboy clients’, says FMB
7th November 2017

Three quarters of construction SMEs say ‘cowboy clients’ are hampering their business, according to the latest research by the Federation of Master Builders.

Results from the UK-wide survey into the impact of clients who delay or withhold payment without good reason or make completely unreasonable include:

• Nearly three quarters think cowboy clients are a serious problem for their businesses
• Nearly a quarter have had to wait for more than four months for payment from a client or large contractor
• Fewer than one third are always paid within the standard 30 days.

The negative effects that late payment is having on construction SMEs include:
• 30% have had to delay payment to suppliers
• 20% say late payment stopped them from having the confidence to grow their business
• 16% had to borrow additional funds from a bank or other lender
• 8% almost went out of business
• 5% had to withhold wages and salaries from staff
• 4% had to let staff go.

Sarah McMonagle, Director of External Affairs at the FMB, said: “There are so many horror stories of people being duped by cowboy builders. However, our research shows that there’s a flip side to this story with three quarters of small construction firms being hampered by cowboy clients. Typical cowboy client behaviour can include a demand for the builder to complete tasks not included in the original brief or quote and for no extra payment. The worst type of cowboy client seeks to delay or withhold payment on spurious grounds, for instance by discovering make-believe faults. Nearly a quarter of construction SMEs have had to wait for more than four months for payment from a client or large contractor.

Fewer than one third of builders are always paid within the standard period of 30 days and this is completely unacceptable.”