Yorkshire Water boss paid extra £1.3m via offshore parent firm, investigation reveals

The boss of Yorkshire Water, one of Britain's biggest water suppliers, has received £1.3m in previously undisclosed extra pay since 2023 via an offshore parent company, the Guardian can reveal.

- Jasper Jolly

Nicola Shaw received £660,000 from Yorkshire Water's Jersey-registered parent company, Kelda Holdings, in the 2023-24 and the 2024-25 financial years. The size of the fees was not disclosed in the annual report of the regulated subsidiary, Yorkshire Water Services.

The utility company at first refused to detail the pay Kelda Holdings had awarded Shaw, saying the parent company was a "private entity registered in Jersey and subject to separate disclosure frameworks".

Only after the Guardian raised questions about the ability of MPs and bill payers to scrutinise the pay awarded did the company reveal the amount of the two payments.

Yorkshire Water said it complied fully with the regulator Ofwat's requirements on pay disclosure and bonus payments, and that the extra payments relating to work for Kelda Holdings were paid by shareholders, not bill payers.

Regulated water companies must report directors' pay in their annual accounts each year, but there is no obligation for parent companies to disclose their pay to the regulator or the public. Companies in some offshore secrecy locations, including Jersey, have no obligation to reveal executive pay.