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Welcome to our Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024–25

We’re committed to making sure our customers have access to high-quality, affordable and efficient water and wastewater services, while we protect and enhance our communities and the environment.

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We provide essential water services to 2.7 million customers and wastewater services to more than 4.8 million customers across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Every day we supply 560 million litres of water, along 14,000km of network via 637 pumping stations, and remove 1,556 million litres of wastewater along a 40,097 km network via 3,522 pumping stations.

Our purpose

Our purpose is to provide water for life to:

1

Enhance health and wellbeing

Supporting our customers, employees and communities in the South East.
2

Protect and improve the environment

Ensuring a sustainable and resilient water future.
3

Sustain the economy

Promoting innovation and a holistic approach to planning.
1

Enhance health and wellbeing

Supporting our customers, employees and communities in the South East.
2

Protect and improve the environment

Ensuring a sustainable and resilient water future.
3

Sustain the economy

Promoting innovation and a holistic approach to planning.

Our vision and values

We’re working together to provide sustainable water and protect the environment today and for future generations. Our vision, purpose and values, alongside our ethical decision making and modern compliance frameworks, help our leadership team, employees and partners make better decisions every day.

Succeeding together

Doing the
right thing

Always improving

Working with care

Financial highlights

Revenue (£m)

Revenue increased to £964.2 million (2024: £859.4 million). This is principally due to the application of inflationary increases of £24.1 million, an adjustment to reflect the fact that revenues have been below our regulatory allowances over the prior years of £66.0 million and the application of lower penalties for Outcome Delivery Incentives (ODI) to our revenues.

792.5

22-23

859.4

23-24

964.2

24-25

Profit/(loss) before interest and tax (£m)

As a result of the increase in operating costs and depreciation, we incurred an operating loss of £16.6 million (2024: £72.3 million loss).

(11.9)

22-23

(72.3)

23-24

(16.6)

24-25

Capital investment (£m)

Overall, during 2024–25 our capital investment in property plant and equipment and intangible asserts was a record £976.6 million (2024: £803.2 million). This step-up in expenditure continued our work to make refurbishments to our assets to improve operational performance as well as schemes to enhance the level of wastewater treatment we undertake, for example to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen levels, improve storm tank capacity and increase the amount of wastewater our works can treat.

753.3

22-23

803.2

23-24

976.6

24-25

Net debt (£m)

Of 31 March 2025, net debt totalled £6,702.8 million (2024: £6,125.7 million restated). This increase of £577.1 million was principally the result of new loans to help finance our capital investment programme.

(5,676.6)

22-23

(6,125.7)

23-24

(6,702.8)

24-25

Regulatory Capital Value (RCV)

6,434.2

22-23

6,787.6

23-24

7,448.7

24-25

Net debt/RCV

68%

22-23

69%

23-24

74%

24-25

Wholesale totex (£m)

The numbers in brackets are figures for Final Determination (£m).

1,090.1 (864.2)

22-23

1,210.3 (752.1)

23-24

1,285.7 (702.7)

24-25

Average water and wastewater customer bill (£)

Figures show the average annual household bill for our water and wastewater services. 

401

22-23

439

23-24

479

24-25

We’re offering more financial support to customers than ever before

Over the past year we’ve set up several new data sharing agreements with local authorities, to auto-enrol customers in vulnerable circumstances onto our Essentials Tariff. So far 3,500 additional customers have been added and are now receiving a minimum discount of 45% off their water bills.

New partnership with local councils
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Expanding our education programme for future customers

Our Education Ambassadors are now hosting assemblies in primary and secondary schools, helping us reach more than 30,000 students over the course of this year.

Community and educational talks
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Targeting the largest customer leaks to save water

Although a leak on a customer property is usually the owner’s responsibility, we’re offering a free fix to some homeowners, where a significant amount of water is being lost. The scheme has saved about 4.86 million litres of water, per day, so far.

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Operational performance

Our Water for Life Business Plan 2020–25 was broad and ambitious and included 47 clear customer commitments. We recognised that performance needed to be improved for our customers and the environment, so we launched our turnaround in 2023. This was our service commitment to customers, explicitly targeting improvements in health and safety, capability, systems and technology, resilience of our assets, digitalisation, logistics, compliance and customer service.

Our priority areas

A reliable supply of water for our customers:

Safeguarding resources and making sure our customers have access to a supply of high-quality water now and into the future.

Trusted and easy customer service:

Supporting our customers with easy service and transparent communications that show we care for our communities.

Healthy rivers and seas:

Protecting and improving the environment, working transparently to enhance inland and coastal habitats.

Empowered and supported colleagues:

Supporting our customers with easy service and transparent communications that show we care for our communities.

A reliable supply of water for our customers:

Safeguarding resources and making sure our customers have access to a supply of high-quality water now and into the future.

Trusted and easy customer service:

Supporting our customers with easy service and transparent communications that show we care for our communities.

Healthy rivers and seas:

Protecting and improving the environment, working transparently to enhance inland and coastal habitats.

Empowered and supported colleagues:

Supporting our customers with easy service and transparent communications that show we care for our communities.

Statements: Chair Chief Executive
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Chair's statement

"We’re at a pivotal point in Southern Water’s transformation, as one five-year investment period ends, and we embark on our largest delivery programme yet. 

The company that the Board and I oversee today has changed fundamentally over the past five years, both culturally and operationally. Areas of performance that stakeholders have highlighted as being vitally important, such as leakage, water quality, flooding and pollutions, are materially improved thanks to the focus applied by the Executive’s turnaround strategy. These turnaround commitments continue into the next five-year investment period."

- Keith Lough, Chair

Keith Lough, Chair, Southern Water

Chief Executive's statement

"Our strategy is clear and has four phases, which have so far delivered a complete reset of Southern Water’s leadership, culture, systems, processes and people, as well as a step change in investment levels. Change has been rapid, guided by our Turnaround Plan, which since 2023 has delivered significant improvements in some critical performance areas, like leakage, total pollutions, flooding and storm overflow release reductions. We expect to see further improvements realised for 2025–26 in other performance areas where turnaround actions have now been completed.

Our shareholders have supported these changes, injecting more than £1.6 billion into the Southern Water Group during 2020–25. Their support has been vital, and it continues, with them committing a further £655 million in equity for the next five-year period to 2030, and up to a further £545 million intended to be committed by December 2025. Shareholders have not taken any dividends and will not be taking any in the period to 2030."

- Lawrence Gosden, CEO

Lawrence Gosden CEO Southern Water

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