Southern Water has announced fresh plans to raise £900m of committed equity to support a five-year investment programme up to 2030.

The water company is progressing the equity raise with its shareholders, led by majority shareholder Macquarie Asset Management.

Southern Water had initially indicated last August to the water regulator, Ofwat, that £650m of equity would be necessary for the company to make improvements. However, following a final decision by the watchdog on how much Southern Water can charge its customers and return to investors, £900m is set to be raised.

The latest injection follows over £1.65bn of new equity funding into Southern Water since September 2021, a period which has seen the company invest more than £3bn as part of a “turnaround plan” during the 2020-2025 regulatory period to improve the group’s water network – including work to overhaul leaky pipes and faulty sewage works.

No dividends have been received by Southern Water's external shareholders since 2017 as a result of the company’s turnaround plan.

Southern Water expects the process for procuring the latest £900m of equity commitments to have been completed “no later than 30 June 2025”, the group said.

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