Water & Wastewater Treatment

4 | MAY 2015 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Industry news May Pennon Group, parent of South West Water (SWW) and Viridor, has bought Bournemouth Water from Singapore-based Sembcorp Holdings for £100.3M. As part of the acquisition, £86.9M of external net debt and debt-like instruments have been assumed by Pennon. The acquisition, which has automatically been referred the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is part of Pennon's broader strategy to re- organise South West Water's operations ahead of market liberalisation and prepare for the statutory reform of the non-household retail market from 2017, and is expected to deliver significant benefits to both customers and shareholders through a combined retail business structure. Commenting on the acquisition, Chris Loughlin, executive director of Pennon and chief executive of South West Water, said: "Bournemouth is a top- performing water company and is an excellent business fit with South West Water's SWW parent Pennon Group buys Bournemouth Water Contract Tracker UU in £170M Davyhulme contract United Utilities has awarded a contract worth up to £170M to upgrade its Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works to the joint venture between Laing O'Rourke and Imtech. A partnership between Hyder Consulting and Mott Macdonald will provide design and project management services for the project, which is aimed at improving the quality of wastewater entering the Manchester Ship Canal. Sykes has Anglian contract extended Pump hire specialist Sykes Pumps has been awarded a one year extension to its Tier 1 framework agreement with Anglian Water, with an option for a further extension. The company has held the pump hire supply framework with Anglian Water since 2006, and was awarded a three-year contract in 2011. Yorks Water appoints Royal HaskoningDHV Yorkshire Water has appointed Royal HaskoningDHV to lead on technical support in the design and scoping of a Marine Framework on coastal assets for AMP6. The framework will deliver specialist works including new outfall pipelines, site investigations and maintenance requiring specialist dive teams and marine equipment. existing operations. The combined business will provide an enhanced platform for innovation and growth ahead of market liberalisation in 2017 and will better serve both Bournemouth and the South West, delivering tangible benefits to customers and shareholders. "Bournemouth Water has a proud pedigree and high service standards. Like South West Water, it operates in a varied rural and urban landscape, with an economy reliant on tourism and the natural environment. We look forward to building on its strengths and continuing to deliver high quality customer services with some of the lowest bills in the industry." Bob Taylor, managing director of Bournemouth Water, added: "We welcome the acquisition by the Pennon Group and look forward to the opportunities this will bring." Pennon said Sembcorp Bournemouth Water is a profitable business and one of the highest performing water-only companies in the UK across a range of indicators with outstanding customer service reflected in its Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM) scores. It considers the acquisition to be highly complementary to South West Water and it believes that it presents an attractive opportunity to expand South West Water's wholesale capabilities whilst driving synergistic and best practice operations. Sembcorp Bournemouth Water is a regulated water only company serving a population of around 440,000 in the Bournemouth region. Last year, the acquired businesses had combined revenues of £49.2M, operating profits of £15.3M and a pre-profit of £10.2M. The acquisition is expected to provide an incremental 5% growth in South West Water's Regulatory Capital Value and to modestly enhance earnings per share (before deferred tax) following integration, which is expected to commence following any CMA approval. 120 The number of people in Southern Water's new in- house engineering team, which is being ramped up to tackle AMP6 projects. The utility is aiming to have a 200-strong in- house team by April 2016. ICE BRIDGE: The innovative 'ice pigging' process – which involves using slush-like ice to clean the inner walls of water pipes – has allowed a key water pipe leading across the iconic Tyne Bridge to be cleaned for the first time since it was installed in 1927 when the bridge was constructed. The cleaning works, carried out by Morrison Utility Services and Aqualogy for Northumbrian Water, took around six hours to complete.

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