Yorkshire Water raises £500m from shareholders amid Thames Water troubles
Yorkshire Water has raised £500m from shareholders, its latest injection of capital from investors as part of its long-term equity plan to invest nearly a £1bn over the next five years.
Earlier this year, it generated £200m from capital markets including £200m in the last week and £500m in February from bondholders.
It confirmed the financing was a commitment it made to watchdog Ofwat last year on inter-company loans.
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We understand the importance of continuing to have robust financial structures in place and we’ve been significantly improving our financial position over the last six months with a stronger and more resilient balance sheet.”
It considered the £500m fundraiser to be a “better than anticipated equity injection from shareholders.”
Yorkshire Water serves 2.3m households and 130,000 businesses, while its shareholders include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, German asset manager DWS and private equity group Corsair Capital.
The shoring up of its finances comes as Thames Water scrambles for cash to tame its £14bn debt pile, with debt-heavy suppliers preparing themselves for hefty investment in the water network to deal with sewage leaks, creaking infrastructure and poor customer service.