Severn Trent completes Dee Valley acquisition

Dee Valley Water is now part of Severn Trent

Water and wastewater company Severn Trent has completed its troubled acquisition of Dee Valley Water.

In a statement, Severn Trent said the water only company’s customers can now “look forward to new customer service initiatives, low bills and investment”.

Severn Trent paid £84m for Dee Valley, outbidding a rival offer of £78.5m from investment fun Ancala in the final instalment of a bidding war for the company.

On completion of the deal Liv Garfield, Severn Trent chief executive, said: “This is all about working together for the benefit of Dee Valley’s customers. We’ve committed to bringing in new initiatives like 24/7 customer service while also expanding our support for vulnerable customers, and investing the network.

“I’d also like to stress to our new customers that we’re absolutely committed to keeping bills low.”

Severn Trent’s offer for Dee Valley Water has faced some shareholder opposition and a series of court hearings were required in order to finally approve the deal.

Full clearance was given by the high court on 13 February.

At the time that Severn Trent’s deal was accepted in principle by the Dee Valley board, local MPs raised concerns about potential job losses after completion.

Severn Trent responded that it intends to “maintain front line field force operations, which comprise a majority of Dee Valley’s employees at their current locations in Wrexham and Chester”.