Southern Water

Owners:                             Greensands Investments Ltd

Regulated utility:             Southern Water Services Ltd

Ownership:                       Infrastructure investment and pension funds

Southern Water has had a checkered ownership history having been owned by Scottish Power and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Finally in 2007 it was bought by the Greensands consortium - a group of infrastructure investors and pension funds. The consortium paid £1.3 bn for the seventh largest water company in England and Wales , as well as taking on £2.8 billion of debt. This was double what RBS paid four years earlier. With the tough final determination from Ofwat the investors may be regretting they paid such a high price.

The consortium is made up of a fund advised by JP Morgan Asset Management, which holds about a 32% stake, Australia's Challenger Infrastructure Fund and the merchant bank UBS, the balance is held by smaller pension funds and investors.

Southern Water has only about two million water customers but nearly four million wastewater customers in the Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and Isle of Wight areas. Its unusual in that most of its water comes from bore holes (69%) along the South Downs. It has a relatively high capital investment plan in the next five years of £1.8 bn. By far the majority (£1.28bn) is on wastewater including the £180m Brighton and Hove wastewater treatment works, other Urban Waste Water Directive projects and investment in improved sewerage.

Like all other water companies Southern Water takes health and safety very seriously, its excellent track recorded has been recognised by the RoSPA's 2011 Presidents Award for outstanding health and safety performance over the last 12 years.

Southern Water's strategy focuses on providing resilient, sustainable and value-for-money services. Being in a water stressed region managing supply and demand for water is key. By 2015 it will have implemented near universal metering.