Orion Group Wins the 2025 Fast Payers Award: Leading the Way for Responsible, Fast, and Fair Business

Orion Group is proud to announce that we have been officially recognised by Good Business Pays as a winner of the 2025 Fast Payers Award. This distinction is earned by only the top-performing large companies across the UK. The award reflects our long-standing commitment to supporting the small businesses, contractors, and suppliers who are essential to our operations and success.

Good Business Pays, an independent organisation championing faster and fairer payment practices, has released its annual list of the 500 companies that have achieved Fast Payer status for 2025. We are honoured to be among this leading group of organisations that consistently demonstrate respect, reliability, and responsibility in the way they treat suppliers.

This recognition is not simply an award. It is a reflection of who we are. At Orion Group, we believe in doing business the right way. That means safety for our people, opportunity for our candidates, outstanding service for our clients, and fairness for every supplier we work with.

Why This Award Matters

Small businesses make up the backbone of the UK economy, yet many struggle with cash flow due to slow or inconsistent payments from larger organisations. Good Business Pays exists to highlight and reward companies that go above and beyond by paying invoices quickly and consistently, ensuring suppliers can plan, invest, and grow with confidence.

To qualify for the Fast Payer Award, companies must demonstrate exceptional payment performance. The criteria for the 2025 Fast Payers Awards and Accreditation include:

• Paying suppliers in an average of 27 days or less

• Paying 95 percent or more of invoices on time

• Meeting these standards consistently across reporting periods

• Submitting transparent payment data to the Department for Business and Trade

Only around 10 percent of large UK companies meet this benchmark. This is one more reason we are incredibly proud to be recognised among this year's winners.

This award confirms something we have always believed at Orion Group: strong supplier relationships are built on trust, fairness, and integrity. When suppliers know they will be paid promptly, they can continue to innovate, deliver solutions, and support the work we do across oil & gas, life science, construction, manufacturing, utilities and renewables.

A True Customer of Choice

Good Business Pays described winners of this award as true customers of choice. This phrase resonates deeply with us.

Being a customer of choice means more than maintaining good administrative practices. It means building a culture where everyone, including employees, contractors, clients, and suppliers, is treated with respect and professionalism. Our ability to maintain an average payment time of 27 days or less and to pay 95 percent of invoices on time reflects a coordinated commitment across our finance, payroll, operations, and procurement teams.

It also reinforces one of our core organisational values: doing the right thing.

Every supplier interaction shapes our reputation. Whether it is the local contractor supporting a regional project or an international partner working with our global divisions, timely payment is a promise we uphold.

A Recognition to Share With Pride

Good Business Pays encourages all winners to share their achievements, noting that teams often feel proud, suppliers feel supported, and customers appreciate the reassurance that comes with transparent and responsible practice. We look forward to displaying this accreditation across our platforms, highlighting our continued commitment to responsible business practices.

Winners of the 2025 Fast Payers Award have been invited to a special reception at the House of Lords on Wednesday 7 January 2026, hosted by Good Business Pays with the support of Intuit, Bottomline, and HSBC.

The event will celebrate companies that have demonstrated leadership in fair payment practices and will include remarks from the Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, Blair McDougall MP.

Leading by Example Across Our Industry

In a business landscape where operational efficiency, trust, and compliance are more important than ever, we see fast payment as a fundamental responsibility, not an optional one. From January 1st 2026, UK companies will be required to publish payment statistics within their Directors Annual Report. For Orion Group, this is an opportunity to further showcase the strong payment culture we have built over decades.

For industries such as energy, life sciences, and engineering, where Orion Group has been a leading recruitment and workforce solutions partner for more than 38 years, supplier stability is vital. The contractors, service providers, and small businesses we collaborate with help drive the success of major projects, from oil and gas operations to biotech manufacturing and renewable energy developments.

A supplier struggling due to late payments can create a ripple effect across entire projects. That is why we choose to lead by example.

Fast Payer status reinforces our belief that:

• Reliable payment builds reliable partnerships

• Healthy suppliers create healthier project ecosystems

• Supporting small businesses strengthens the wider economy

• Responsible business practice is not just an internal value. It is a public commitment

This award demonstrates that these principles are embedded in the way we operate every day.

A "Thank You" to Our Suppliers and Teams

This recognition belongs to the entire Orion Group community. It belongs to the dedicated finance and payroll teams who process invoices with accuracy and urgency. It belongs to our operational staff who build strong and respectful relationships with suppliers. And it belongs to our contractors and suppliers themselves, partners who deliver excellence, communicate openly, and work alongside us to support clients worldwide.

Fast payment is only meaningful when it strengthens real relationships. To our suppliers large and small, thank you for your trust, your collaboration, and your commitment to high standards.

Michele Finlay, Payroll Manager, commented: "Winning the 2025 Fast Payers Award is an honour, but it is also a reminder of the responsibility we carry. This recognition motivates us to keep setting the standard for responsible business conduct across our industry."

Looking Ahead

As we move into 2025 and beyond, Orion Group remains committed to:

• Paying contractors and suppliers on time

• Building strong and transparent partnerships

• Supporting the small businesses that power the UK economy

• Demonstrating integrity in every interaction

• Leading by example within our sector and supply chain

Fairness is not a one-time achievement. It is a way of working. We are proud to be recognised for that commitment and proud to continue delivering on that promise every day.

We extend our thanks to Good Business Pays for this recognition, to our contractors and suppliers for their partnership, and to our internal teams for the dedication that made this award possible.

At Orion Group, we believe great businesses do the right thing even when no one is watching. This award shows that when people are watching, they see our values clearly in action. We are honoured to be a 2025 Fast Payers Award winner and we look forward to continuing to champion responsible business for years to come.