Thames-Castle Water deal worth £99m

Castle Water paid £99 million for the business customer base of Thames Water.

Thames Water said the transfer of its retail non-household business to Castle Water, announced in July 2016, was worth circa £99 million, and is “on-track to complete at business retail market opening in April 2017”.

In its financial statement for the six months to September 2016, the group said it had invested £540.9 million, as part of its £4 billion AMP6 (2015-20) investment programme.

Underlying profit before tax was down at £127.3 million, compared with £216.8 million the previous year, excluding impact of net losses and gains on financial instruments.

Thames generated 127 GWh of energy from sewage after investment in technology – a 26 per cent increase on the first six months of 2015/16, and a saving £15 million off its energy bill.

The company also announced that it has now installed 90,000 smart meters, and had maintained third lowest combined water and wastewater bill in England and Wales.

The company saw a 50 per cent reduction in second stage customer complaints, and resolved 95 per cent of complaints first time.

Thames Water chief executive Steve Robertson said: “Doing the best for customers has always been my priority, and it will be no different at Thames Water. We’re hugely privileged our customers invest in our business every year, through their bills, and we have a duty to them to get things right now and for future generations.

“We have a lot to be proud of – our massive investment into the business has been driving efficiency and network resilience, while our customers still benefit from the third lowest combined water and wastewater bill in the country.

“We’ve lagged behind others in our customer service in recent years, but we’re seeing record performance in resolving complaints first time and we’re working hard to accelerate our rate of improvement. I’m excited to be leading Thames Water as we invest for our customers and begin the next chapter of our story.”