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Trade and other receivables | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2024
Trade and other receivables [abstract] |
Trade and other receivables | 15. Trade and other receivables The following are included in trade and other receivables:
| 2024 |  | 2023
Amounts to be realised within one year | £m |  | £m
Trade receivables (net of loss allowance) | 6,487 |  |  | 7,055 |
Unbilled costs | 238 |  |  | 273 |
VAT and sales taxes recoverable | 323 |  |  | 371 |
Prepayments | 221 |  |  | 239 |
Fair value of derivatives | 1 |  |  | 1 |
Other receivables 1 | 452 |  |  | 521 |
| 7,722 |  |  | 8,460 |
Note 1 This balance does not include any individually material items. The ageing of trade receivables by due date is as follows:
| Carrying amount at 31 December |  | Not past due |  | Days past due
0-30 days |  | 31-90 days |  | 91-180 days |  | 181 days- 1 year |  | Greater than 1 year
2024 | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m
Gross trade receivables | 6,522 |  |  | 5,672 |  |  | 572 |  |  | 155 |  |  | 58 |  |  | 23 |  |  | 42 |
Expected credit losses | (35) |  |  | (1) |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | (2) |  |  | (9) |  |  | (23) |
| 6,487 |  |  | 5,671 |  |  | 572 |  |  | 155 |  |  | 56 |  |  | 14 |  |  | 19 |
2023 | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m |  | £m
Gross trade receivables | 7,099 |  |  | 6,173 |  |  | 613 |  |  | 183 |  |  | 53 |  |  | 30 |  |  | 47 |
Expected credit losses | (44) |  |  | (1) |  |  | (1) |  |  | (1) |  |  | (3) |  |  | (10) |  |  | (28) |
| 7,055 |  |  | 6,172 |  |  | 612 |  |  | 182 |  |  | 50 |  |  | 20 |  |  | 19 |
| 2024 |  | 2023 |
| £m |  | £m |
Expected credit losses |  |  |  |
At beginning of year | 44 |  |  | 72 |  |
Charged to the income statement | 20 |  |  | 15 |  |
Released to the income statement | (7) |  |  | (22) |  |
Exchange adjustments | (1) |  |  | (5) |  |
Utilisations and other movements | (21) |  |  | (16) |  |
At end of year | 35 |  |  | 44 |  |
The expected credit loss is equivalent to 0.5% (2023: 0.6%, 2022: 1.0%) of gross trade receivables. Expected credit losses on unbilled costs and other receivables were not material for the years presented. The Group considers that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value. Expected credit losses The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach to measuring expected credit losses, which uses a lifetime expected loss allowance for trade receivables, unbilled costs, accrued income and unbilled media. Trade receivables, unbilled costs, accrued income and unbilled media which are mainly due from large national and multinational companies, have been grouped based on shared risk characteristics and days past due. Accrued income, unbilled media and unbilled costs are deemed to have substantially the same risk characteristics as trade receivables, and therefore the expected loss rates for trade receivables are a reasonable approximation of the loss rates for accrued income, unbilled media and unbilled costs. The expected loss rates are based on historical credit losses, with consideration also given to the current economic environment, the level of credit insurance the Group has, as well as forward-looking information.
| 2024 |  | 2023
Amounts to be realised after more than one year | £m |  | £m
Fair value of derivatives | 4 |  |  | 32 |
Other receivables and prepayments 1 | 170 |  |  | 177 |
| 174 |  |  | 209 |
Note 1 This balance does not include any individually material items. The Group has applied the practical expedient permitted by IFRS 15 to not disclose the transaction price allocated to performance obligations unsatisfied (or partially unsatisfied) as of the end of the reporting period as contracts typically have an original expected duration of a year or less. Other receivables and prepayments falling due after more than one year at 31 December 2024 includes £18 million in relation to pension plans in surplus (2023: £14 million).

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- Definition The disclosure of trade and other receivables. [Refer: Trade and other receivables] + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef -Name IAS -Number 1 -IssueDate 2024-01-01 -Paragraph 10 -Subparagraph e -URI https://taxonomy.ifrs.org/xifrs-link?type=IAS&num=1&code=ifrs-tx-2024-en-r&anchor=para_10_e&doctype=Standard -URIDate 2024-03-27 + Details
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- References No definition available. + Details
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