Latest news with #SusanDavy
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
South West Water owner's losses rise by £63million after Brixham parasite outbreak
Pennon saw losses widen last year as restructuring costs and the impact of the Brixham parasite outbreak weighed on the South West Water owner. The group, whose customers saw bills surge by an average of 28 per cent in April, posted a pre-tax loss of £72.7million for the year 31 March, up from a £9.1million loss the prior year. The parasite outbreak in Brixham, south Devon, which left some people hospitalised, cost Pennon about £21million, as around 800 staff and supply chain partners were dispatched for an eight-week effort to return safe clean drinking water to the area. Pennon also faced £15.8million in costs related to restructuring actions over the year. Plans to ramp up investment in infrastructure, and encourage customers to use less water to save money, also hit profitability, according to the group. Pennon is targeting £3.2billion of investment by 2030, incorporating work to build new reservoirs, fix storm overflows, meet its net zero commitments, and improve services for customers. Bills for South West Water customers surged by 28 per cent on average from April, while bills for Bristol Water and Sutton and East Surrey (SES) customers are rising by 5 and 3 per cent respectively. Pennon, which expects to return to profitability in the year ahead, said the bill hikes would help fund around a third of its investments. Susan Davy, Pennon's chief executive, added: 'We know customers are worried about rising bills to fund this level of investment. 'While we have made the tough decision to put bills up in 2025-26 - for the first time in over a decade - two-thirds of our investments are being funded by our supportive investors and debt providers. 'Ultimately everyone will benefit from the investments we are making - from building reservoirs, to fixing storm overflows, powering our net zero ambitions and helping to create economic growth.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
South West Water boss apologises over parasite outbreak
The boss of South West Water (SWW) has said she unreservedly apologises for a parasite outbreak in south Devon a year an interview with the BBC, Pennon Group CEO Susan Davy said she suffered "sleepless nights" as communities in Brixham and Kingswear grappled with the outbreak at the than 100 cases of cryptosporidiosis were linked to the outbreak, while tourism firms reported losing millions of pounds, after the parasite was found in a reservoir on 15 May to criticism over bill rises, Ms Davy conceded the increases were "too much" for some, but were needed to fund an upgrade of the sewerage network in Devon and Cornwall, a process that could take 15 years. Thousands of residents in Brixham and surrounding areas last year were put under a boil water notice after the parasite was found in the water supply and residents became unwell, including some who were admitted to hospital, with the diarrhoea-type firm was criticised for acting too slowly to warn residents while an industry association estimated tourism businesses lost £34m in bookings at the time. Ms Davy said she wanted to "reiterate my unreserved apology" for the affect on residents and businesses."It was a very difficult time for them and they showed a lot of patience with us as we got the drinking water back to where it needed to be," she how she had personally coped during the crisis, she added: "I certainly had sleepless nights last year and I had sleepless nights through the 2022 drought as well. "This is a 24/7 operation and my focus is on making sure we supply our customers and they get the services they need." The SWW boss said she regretted if people felt she was absent during the crisis."I wasn't absent, I was there," she said."I was meeting customers, meeting the community and making sure everything was happening as it needed to for that very difficult operation."So, I wasn't hiding, I was there in Brixham." Ms Davy said "sometimes things do go wrong" with a large network."Occasionally, things go wrong and this went wrong," she said."This is our network, it was our water." Regarding sewage spills, Ms Davy said SWW "had to redesign" its overflow systems to prevent them."We have to stop those spills, we want to stop those spills and we're working on it now," she said. "I can't lie, it's going to take us 15 years to get this programme of redesigning done, and we have £3.2bn of investment that we're putting in over the next few years to assist with redesigning our waste water system."She said the company had listened to customers and its priority was ensuring water quality on bathing beaches. "We want to make sure they're as good as they can be," she said. 'Tailored' bills Ms Davy also responded to criticism following last month's bill increases when the average SWW customer saw their bills rise by 28%.Customers had said they were angry and concerned with the increase, with one describing it as "daylight robbery".When asked what the company was doing to address the issue, Ms Davy said SWW "tailored" bills to customers by offering different support and tariffs, some which deduct 85% off bills."The bills this year on average have been about £1.85 a day," she said."I know for some customers that is £1.85 too much and we need to sit there and support them and work out how we can do that."
The Sun
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Thousands of Brits to get £200 payout after burst pipe sparked huge water outage
THOUSANDS of Brits are set to receive £200 compensation after a burst water main left homes and businesses without water for days. South West Water (SWW) will give a £200 credit to all affected households after water outages hit around 13,000 properties across Devon Plymouth, Tavistock, Torquay, and nearby areas from Sunday to midweek. 5 5 5 The disruption began when a major water main burst, causing widespread outages. South West Water (SWW) said supplies were expected to return by Wednesday, and as of early Tuesday, engineers were still working non-stop to repair the damage and safely refill the network. Business customers will be offered tailored compensation packages, depending on the extent of their losses. They will also receive £100 for every 12 hours without supply and can apply for additional compensation. Fred Thomas, Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View, pressed SWW for action, calling the situation "unacceptable." And said in a series of posts on X that all water supply would return "first thing" on Wednesday morning. He said he had spoken directly with SWW chief executive Susan Davy to demand a clear timeline and fair compensation. 'I'm pleased they've agreed to a £200 credit for households,' said Mr Thomas. 'Businesses can reach out to me directly for help with compensation claims.' SWW's Managing Director of Water Services, David Harris, apologised to customers, acknowledging the frustration caused. 'This is a tricky task,' he said. 'We're refilling hundreds of miles of pipes and clearing air pockets carefully to avoid further issues. "We didn't plan this and we're very sorry.' The company also confirmed that bottled water stations were set up in key locations including The George Park and Ride, Bere Alston Bowling Club, Knightstone Tearooms in Yelverton, and Morrisons in Tavistock. Schools, universities, and leisure centres were among the worst affected. Horrabridge Primary and Nursery School closed after struggling to get updates from SWW, while Nuffield Health Devonshire in Plymouth and Plymouth Marjon University also temporarily shut down. Sir Geoffrey Cox, MP for Tavistock, called for faster support for vulnerable residents and criticised what he described as a 'worrying pattern of poor service' from SWW. Local mum-of-three Morwenna Roesner from Tavistock said her family was without water for more than 36 hours. 'It's frustrating not being able to do basic things like dishes or shower, but staying hydrated is the most important thing, especially for people on medication,' she said. SWW reiterated its commitment to fair compensation, describing the payments as a "gesture of goodwill" to make amends for the disruption. 5
The Independent
31-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Pennon costs surge to £36m after South West Water parasite outbreak in Devon
South West Water owner Pennon has said the final bill for last year's parasite outbreak in Devon that impacted thousands of households has contributed to a cost hit of nearly £40 million. The supplier – which also owns Bristol Water, Bournemouth Water and SES Water – said it was facing costs of around £36 million for the supply contamination incident in Brixham and its 'reshaping and transformation programmes'. This is up from around £20 million in costs in the first half of its year, when it revealed more than £16 million was paid out for the Brixham issue after compensating affected customers, together with a further £4 million for its overhaul programme. Despite the rising financial toll, the London-listed group said on Monday that its underlying earnings would be 'broadly flat' compared with the first half and that it was on track with its own expectations for the full year to March 31. Shares in the group fell 2% in Monday morning trading. The outbreak in May last year left some people in hospital and hundreds of others ill after contamination of the water supply by cryptosporidium, a parasite which causes sickness and diarrhoea. About 17,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area were issued with a 'boil water' notice as scores of reported cases emerged. The notice, instructing them not to use tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first, remained in place for eight weeks for some households. In a Commons committee session last month, Pennon chief executive Susan Davy apologised to customers over pollution incidents, including the 'devastating' Devon case, while also revealing her salary has risen this year. Ms Davy has faced criticism after it was revealed that her pay package jumped 58% to £860,000 a month following the incident, after she picked up a long-term share award. She also told the MPs in the committee session that her base salary is rising from £494,000 to £511,000 this year. South West Water customers will see their bills increase by 23% over the coming five years, helping the company pay for improvements to its infrastructure and reduce pollution incidents. The costs of the parasitic water outbreak saw Pennon report widened bottom line pre-tax losses of £38.8 million in the six months to September, against losses of £34 million a year earlier. The company spent about £4 million on restructuring the business in the first half alone, having also bought Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water for £350 million. It is looking to cut costs across SES, which was also loss-making in the first half.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
United Utilities and Pennon to increase dividend payments as water bills rise
Two of England's privatised water monopolies, the South West Water owner Pennon and United Utilities, have said they will increase dividend payments to investors, as they prepare to raise household bills. The companies said they had accepted the regulator Ofwat's final determination of what they may charge customers – removing the possibility of an appeal to try to argue that bills should be higher. The decisions mean the companies will go ahead with increases in bills of 23% for South West Water and 32% for United Utilities over five years from April. Ofwat informed water companies before Christmas of the bills increase it would allow over the five-year period, with an average rise of 36% across the different companies in England and Wales. As part of that calculation, Ofwat allows water shareholders to make an agreed return on their investment. Pennon said its dividend would increase in line with inflation from £129.3m for the year to 31 March 2024. The inflation measure chosen was at 3.5% in the year to December. United Utilities, a member of the FTSE 100 that provides water in north-west England, also said it would also raise its dividend in line with inflation, after paying out about £340m to investors in 2023-24. The company said it had 'strong operating performance' in the final three months of 2024. Related:Water bills in England and Wales: how much more might you pay in your area? Louise Beardmore, United Utilities's chief executive, said: 'With the final determination agreed, we are now able to progress what will be the largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in over 100 years, to build a stronger, greener and healthier north-west.' United Utilities has faced anger from clean water campaigners over sewage discharges into Windermere in the Lake District. Pennon last year faced strong criticism over a pay increase of £300,000 for its chief executive, Susan Davy, weeks after an outbreak of diarrhoea caused by a parasite in Devon's water supply. Pennon also faced calls for it to suspend dividend payments after the outbreak. Neither Pennon nor United Utilities are under the same financial pressure of struggling counterparts such as Southern Water or Thames Water, which is trying to raise billions of pounds of new debt and then equity amid the threat of temporary nationalisation. Other water companies could still appeal to the competition regulator against Ofwat's decision in the hope of charging customers more – a controversial prospect given the widespread outrage over the extent of sewage released into Britain's rivers and seas. However, Pennon investors took fright after the company said it needed to raise £490m to carry out the increased investment required by the regulator. Pennon's share price fell by as much as 7.8% on Wednesday morning after it announced the rights issue, hitting its lowest level in 13 years. The company was the biggest faller on the FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies in early trading, before recovering some of its losses. The share price of United Utilities dropped in early trading before rising by 1%.
