South West Water owner taps investors to fix infrastructure after sewage spills
Summary
South West Water's owner, Pennon, is raising £550 million from investors and cutting its shareholder dividend by about 30% to pay for improvements after the company was fined nearly £8 million for hundreds of sewage spills. The company plans to invest £1 billion to improve water services and environmental performance without raising customer bills.Key Facts
- Pennon owns South West Water, which serves 3.5 million customers in southwest England and 380,000 businesses in the UK.
- South West Water was fined £7.9 million for hundreds of sewage spills over six years at popular and sensitive locations.
- The company was also fined £1.85 million for supplying unsafe water during a parasite outbreak in 2024.
- Pennon’s new CEO, Keith Haslett, started a review and identified customer service and environmental improvements needed.
- Pennon is raising £550 million from investors as part of a £1 billion plan called “Project Proteus.”
- The company cut dividends by about 30% to fund the investment without raising customer bills.
- Customer complaints to South West Water have risen by 153% in the past year.
- South West Water has applied for a ban on some non-essential water uses due to low rainfall in parts of Devon and Dorset.
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