South East Water urgently requires a cash injection from their shareholders to keep running otherwise the troubled company will not have “sufficient liquidity for the going concern period.”
South East Water are preparing for an Ofwat ruling over their spending plans for the future.
The water company said they are in “discussions with lenders and shareholders regarding additional liquidity.”
Company bosses have said they are in “advanced” stage talks and are expecting to raise the required funding.
The water company serves 2.3 million customers across Surrey, Kent and Sussex.
South East Water said in a statement on Wednesday, “If it is not possible to raise the additional liquidity, the group and therefore company would not have sufficient liquidity for the going concern period.”
They added, “The risk that the funding will not be received constitutes a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the group and company to continue as a going concern.”
They have put forward plans to increase spending to £1.9 billion to keep up with the maintenance of the infrastructure and 2.3 million people will be hit with a 22% rise in their bills as a result.
In the year to 31 March South East Water pre-tax losses was £36 million, compared to £74 million the previous year, whilst the turnover was £281 million.
South East Water said, “Since the investigation was launched, we have entered into a constructive and transparent dialogue with Ofwat.
“Our colleagues, contractors, partners and stakeholders have all played a vital role in ensuring we kept the taps flowing for as many customers as possible, even during the extreme weather which impacted on our operations and overall performance in 2023/24.
“Despite all our efforts, there were still some issues during the year and we’d like to apologise to customers who experienced any supply interruptions.”
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