Water Companies

Customer bills make up at least 96% of water company revenue, according to Guardian analysis of company accounts for 2023. The analysis of financial data for all 14 English water companies found the industry has paid close to 20p for every pound of revenue on servicing debt on average over the past five years. But the cost of interest and fees associated with debt soars for customers in the south-east. For three companies, Thames Water, Southern Water and South East Water, which provide water for 9.4 million households and businesses, the cost of servicing debt is more than a quarter of water bills.

England is one of the few countries in the world where water is fully owned by private companies. These companies answer to investors based offshore and include private and state-owned international funds, banks, multinationals and billionaires headquartered outside the UK, and they control at least 72% (2022) of English water.