Severn Trent highlights major investment to tackle storm overflows

Severn Trent has delivered its “best-ever performance on leakage, blockages, and supply interruptions” in a year in which it acknowledged the water industry “has been in the spotlight like never before”.

Storm overflows and sewage in rivers and seas has been a major issue for water companies across the UK.

In a statement to shareholders, Severn Trent said: “Storm overflows remain a priority for our customers and wider stakeholders, and this year has highlighted that we need to go further, move quicker, and find more creative and innovative solutions to meet these expectations.

“This year alone we will invest £450m across 900 overflows – around a third of our total – to bring our average number of spills below 20 by 2025. We are committed to moving as quickly as possible, going further than is required, to resolve the issue.”

In September, the firm announced plans to raise £1bn through an equity placing, which was successful and will accelerate a £450m AMP8 investment into AMP7.

Liv Garfield, chief executive, of Severn Trent Plc, said: “The extra £1bn we raised from our investors will help us continue to transform the network, reducing spills, improving river health and providing our customers with the best and most reliable service.

“Following extensive work to test and trial solutions, just last week we unveiled plans to deliver storm overflow solutions across 900 locations in the Midlands this year, and a dedicated 300-strong team are now installing c. 1,000 capital schemes which, once finished, will see a reduction of 20% of spills per year.”

The company has also migrated the first 20,000 customers onto the new Kraken customer platform and insourced around 400 colleagues into the customer Waste Network Team, aiming to enhance long-term growth and operational efficiency.

Severn Trent has today reported an increase in investment, with £1.2bn invested in FY24, a 63% year-on-year rise. This brings the total investment for the current AMP period to over £3bn.

Profit before interest and tax (PBIT) reached £512m, while net finance costs decreased by 22% to £282m. The company’s PR24 plan aims to meet Ofwat’s tests of financeability, deliverability, and affordability.