Protecting Retentions - Have Your Say!
The Department for Business & Trade is consulting on major changes to retentions in construction. The consultation runs until 23 October 2025. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure fair treatment for contractors and subcontractors.
Built on the Bank of England Base Rate

Retention Deposit Scheme Pricing

Our construction retentions accounts are entirely free of charge while the Bank of England Base Rate is 3.75% or more.
Free

Base rate of 3.75%

A small management charge each month.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
While the base rate is 3.75% or higher, we receive a small amount of interest on the retentions which we use to fund all of the costs of providing the accounts.
Segregated accounts for each contract
Funds safeguarded at the Bank of England
Online account portal
Xero Integration (coming soon)
* After an account has been open for two months, if the balance of retention in the account is less than £5,000, we charge a flat-rate fee of £25/mth +VAT until the account balance is £5,000 or more.
£25/mth

Base rate of less than 3.75%

A small management charge each month.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
If the base rate drops below 3.75%, we charge a flat-rate administrative fee per month of £20 +VAT to cover the administration of the account.  There are no other charges.
Segregated accounts for each contract
Funds safeguarded at the Bank of England
Online account portal
Xero Integration (coming soon)
* We charge the greater of £25/mth +VAT for each account for each contract.
Pricing

Pricing & Fee Questions

Everything you need to know about our pricing and fees

Where can I find out more about your fees and pricing?

Pricing and fees are all governed by Scheme Rule 8.  

How much does a subcontract account cost?

Each subcontract account is charged for in the same way - as long as the base rate is 3.75% or more, there are no fees on the account (save that where the account has been open for more than two months and the balance is less than £5,000, a £25/mth +VAT fee is charged).

If the base rate is less than 3.75%, the flat fee of £25/mth +VAT is charged.

What happens if the base rate drops below zero?

While this has never happened in the UK, following the last global economic crisis, some Eurozone countries imposed negative interest rates.  Scheme Rule 8.5 deals with this.

In essence, we continue to charge the fees we had been charging while the base rate was less than 3.75%, plus whatever the negative interest rate is, which we pass on without surcharge.

Still have questions?

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Please chat to our friendly team.