Macquarie Asset Management plans to invest an additional £550 million ($700 million) of equity into the Southern Water group to support the company’s five-year turnaround plan.
Southern Water is the private utility company responsible for the public wastewater collection and treatment, as well as public water supply and distribution, in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent in England.
Macquarie first invested in Southern Water in September 2021, injecting £1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) of equity to facilitate additional investment and reduce leverage across the Southern Water group. Since then, Southern Water has appointed a new executive team and initiated a step-change in investment levels, with a 56 percent increase in average annual capital expenditure.
The company’s Turnaround Plan, announced in April, seeks to deliver an ambitious improvement by 2025, particularly in terms of its environmental performance. The plan is focused