Revealed: 70% of England's water firms in foreign hands

Foreign investment firms, private equity, pension funds and businesses lodged in tax havens own more than 70% of the water industry in England, according to research by the Guardian.

- Anna Leach Carmen Aguilar García Sandra Laville

The complex web of ownership is revealed as the public and some politicians increasingly call for the industry to be held to account for sewage dumping, leaks and water shortages. Six water companies are under investigation for potentially illegal activities as pressure grows on the industry to put more money into replacing and restoring crumbling infrastructure to protect both the environment and public health.

More than three decades after the sector was sold off with a promise to the public they would become individual shareholders or “H2Owners”, control of the water industry has become dominated by overseas investment vehicles, the super-rich, companies in tax havens and pension fund investors. The ownership structure is such that transparency and accountability is limited, according to Dr Kate Bayliss, a research associate with the department of economics at Soas University of London.

International investment funds with large stakes include several household names as well as sovereign wealth funds. For example the Qatar Investment Authority is the third largest shareholder in Severn Trent, with a 4.6% holding, while almost 10% is held by the US investment company Black Rock and its subsidiaries, according to analysis of shareholdings as of October this year.

A subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has a 9.9 % stake in Thames Water, while 8.7% is owned by China , the analysis shows.

The Guardian has tracked more than 100 shareholders of the nine main water and sewerage companies and six smaller firms that serve customers in England.