Firm looks to sell water shares

Southern Water take supplies to more than 2m homes

A French company is looking for a buyer for its 25% stake in Southern Water.

Veolia Environment said it was looking at its stake in Southern Water which supplies two million homes in Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Veolia, which runs three other UK water companies, said it was fully committed to operating in the UK water market.

The French firm said selling the shares was an option but all scenarios were under consideration. An investment bank is looking for a buyer for the shares.

A spokeswoman for Veolia said the company was an operator in the water industry and not an investor.

The three other water companies run by Veolia are Three Valleys, Folkestone and Dover, and Tendring Hundred.

Worthing-based Southern Water has about 2,000 staff and made pre-tax profits of £67.4m last year.

The company is controlled by First Aqua which was created by the Royal Bank of Scotland. No-one was available for comment from Southern Water or the Royal Bank of Scotland.