SSE Water was established in 2008 under licence from Ofwat and is a “New appointments and variations” (NAV) water company which owns water networks and supplies c20,000 customers across 28 sites in Southern England and Wales.
Image: SSE to sell water division to Leep Nav Networks. Photo: Courtesy of SSE.
The SSE Water management team (6 staff) will transfer on sale and continue to operate the business so there will be no impact on customers.
Leep Utilities is a joint-venture between Ancala, the mid-market infrastructure investment manager, and Peel, one of the UK’s leading private real estate investment and infrastructure companies. Leep owns and operates regulated and non-regulated utility networks, including electricity, water and district heating networks, with a portfolio of sites across the country. Leep is an existing NAV operator and the acquisition of SSE Water will establish Leep as the leading NAV operator in the UK market.
The transaction is expected to complete by the end of March 2019 with no material loss of earnings or gain on sale.
Nathan Sanders, Managing Director, SSE Enterprise Utilities, said: “Thanks to the team at SSE Water for the strong contribution to Enterprise over the last decade and I know they will be a success as part of Leep, continuing to provide an excellent service to their customers who will not be affected. Although it is a good business, the water business is clearly non core to SSE plc’s main focus on energy networks alongside renewable energy, complemented by flexible thermal energy and business sales, therefore this is the right move for the business and for SSE”
Louise Manfredi, Managing Director, Leep Utilities, commented: “Leep is delighted to be acquiring SSE Water. It will make us the leading NAV operator in the UK market and the transaction speaks to the high conviction that we have in the benefits that successful NAV operators can deliver to UK developers, customers and society. We plan to continue to provide best in class customer service to our expanded water inset customer base as well as to deliver ‘Straightforward Connections’ to new developers and connection providers across the country. ”
Source: Company Press Release