Profiting from privatisation
In 1989 privatisation was sold to the public on the basis that the private sector would be more able than the state to fund the improvements the water industry would need in the years ahead. Overall the water industry made nearly £2bn profit last year, compared to £1bn in 1991. But assessing how much benefit privatisation has been either to investors and individual companies is a little complicated. This is because sets of accounts are produced by the companies and by Ofwat, with both calculating financial performance in different ways. But it is clear that all companies have seen their profits increase over the years with Thames Water coming top last year.
Source: Ofwat
