Pennon Group plc is a British water utility company based in Exeter, England. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. 83% of the company's profits come from its subsidiary, South West Water.

History

The company was founded in 1989 as ''South West Water plc'' at the time of the privatisation of the Water Industry in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1993 it acquired ''Haul Waste'' and in 1995 it bought ''Blue Circle Waste Management''. It changed its name to ''Pennon Group plc'' in 1998. By 2016, the company employed approximately 4,500 people, and provided water and sewerage to 1.7 million customers in South West England. The company successfully saw off a takeover bid from Terra Firma in 2004. It acquired ''Thames Waste Management'' in 2004, ''Wyvern Waste'' in 2006, ''Grosvenor Waste Management'' and ''Skipaway Holdings'' in 2007 and ''Shore Recycling'' in 2008. In 2016, the group acquired Bournemouth Water in a deal worth £100 million, integrating the company with South West Water, but keeping the Bournemouth Water name. On 8 July 2020, global investment firm KKR completed its £4.2 billion acquisition of waste firm Viridor from Pennon Group. In June 2021, the company acquired Bristol Water for $563 million. In January 2024, Pennon acquired SES Water for £380 million. The acquisition was cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority in June 2024. In June 2024, the company announced the appointment of David Sprowle as its new chair, replacing Gill Rider the following month.

Operations

The company's main asset is South West Water, which supplies water and sewerage services in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, Cornwall, and parts of

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and Somerset. South West Water covers 83% of the group's profits.

References

External links

Pennon Group Official site
{{Authority control Water companies of England Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies established in 1989 Companies based in Exeter Companies in the FTSE 250 Index