Water company lands new £30m funding deal

DEE Valley Water, which supplies water to Chester, Wrexham and the surrounding area in north east Wales and west Cheshire, is set to undertake its largest ever capital investment programme after securing £30m funding from HSBC.

The company, which supplies more than 258,000 people with 63 million litres of water every day, has secured a five-year revolving credit facility – worth £21m more than its previous arrangement.

Full payment and cash management services were already provided by HSBC, with the new funding strengthening the existing relationship.

 This includes access to HSBCnet, the online banking platform that makes it easier for companies to check account balances, authorise payments and receive payment alerts.

Dee Valley Water recently agreed its new five-year Business Plan (2015-2020) with Ofwat, its economic regulator and will use the funding to deliver an investment programme of up to £50m – its largest ever.

The company plans to focus investment on the replacement of key assets and maintenance of its asset infrastructure.

Major schemes include upgrading water treatment works, rebuilding treated water storage reservoirs, cleaning mains and renewing 59km of distribution mains and 9km of trunk mains.

Dee Valley Water has one of the lowest leakage and burst mains rates in England and Wales. It also achieves consistently high rankings in Ofwat’s quarterly Customer Experience Survey.

Ian Plenderleith, chief executive of Dee Valley Water, said: “This funding will enable us to deliver our largest ever investment programme which will improve and build greater resilience into our network. This is good news for our customers.”

Tony Fulton, HSBC’s area director of corporate banking for Liverpool, Cheshire and North Wales, said: “HSBC has a strong appetite to support forward-thinking businesses like Dee Valley Water.

“It is a growing business with a clear and ambitious investment plan. I am pleased we have been able to back its exciting plans and look forward to working together as it progresses with this important project.”

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