Water spending rebellion could cost households billions, says Citizens Advice October 30, 2020 Citizens Advice has waded into a row between the competition and water watchdogs over new spending rules for the country’s water companies. According to the charity, households could lose out on a combined £3.7bn across the next five years if the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sticks with its decision to back a rebellion against [...]
Rebel water companies get partial support in fight over price cuts September 29, 2020 Four water companies have today won some critical support in their fight against proposals that would force them to slash household bills. As a result of the provisional ruling from the UK’s competition watchdog, Anglian, Bristol, Northumbrian and Yorkshire will be able to spend an additional £214m in investment into the UK’s creaking water infrastructure. [...]
Water industry hits back at Ofwat over price determinations February 14, 2020 Two more water companies have referred Ofwat to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today over its five-year financial plan for the sector, after Yorkshire Water did so on Monday. Both Anglian and Northumbrian Water have referred the regulator’s price determinations, with the latter claiming that the plan runs “contrary to the long term best [...]
Ofwat orders water companies to cut bills by £50 December 16, 2019 Water firms must slash the average bill by £50 by 2025, regulator Ofwat insisted today as it set out plans to improve the utility providers’ performance. The demand forms part of a massive £51bn investment strategy for water companies under Ofwat, including a goal to cut the amount of water lost to leaks by 16 [...]
Water firms prepare to flood watchdog with complaints after final Ofwat ruling December 15, 2019 Britain’s water companies are getting ready to launch a deluge of complaints against Ofwat, after the regulator publishes its final financial demands for the industry over the next five years. The regulator stunned the industry in July, when it rejected all but three leading suppliers’ business plans for 2020-2025, in a bid to clean up [...]
Pub companies: Is now the time to invest in a cheap pint? September 23, 2019 Investors in Greene King are raising a glass in celebration after Hong Kong’s richest man, Victor Li, agreed to buy the UK’s largest publicly-listed pub and brewery company for £4.6 billion (including net debt). A unit of Li’s investment vehicle, CK Asset Holdings, has bid 850 pence per share – more than a 50 per [...]
Best UK companies to work for in 2016: Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca and Harrods top the list January 14, 2016 Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca and Harrods are the top three UK companies to work for, according to a ranking by Statista, which was compiled for Bloomberg. Other household names comprising the top 10 included Adidas, Dyson, Microsoft, Estee Lauder, Sky, Frankie and Benny's and Rolls-Royce. Those working in the professional services were most likely to recommend their employer, while employees in [...]
Bank Junction is dysfunctional, dangerous, congested and polluting – but can be improved November 20, 2015 Quite simply, the Bank Junction is so busy that it is not possible to achieve effective traffic flows or safe pedestrian movement. At the morning peak hour 18,000 pedestrians, 1,600 cyclists, 1,400 cars and 220 buses cram into this restricted space, a space not worthy to form the heart of this great City. So what [...]
Asia’s richest man is a big UK investor January 20, 2015 BILLIONAIRE Li Ka-Shing has added to his already extensive portfolio of UK companies with the Eversholt deal. In the past, he has invested heavily in British utility infrastructure, paying £645m for gas distribution firm Wales & West Utilities in 2010 and led a consortium that bought the UK electricity distribution arm of EDF Energy for [...]
Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing buys Eversholt Rail for £2.5bn January 20, 2015 Eversholt Rail has been snapped up by Li Ka-shing who is Asia's richest man, meaning he now owns around a owns a third of the UK's trains. CK Investments, which is jointly owned by two of his companies, paid £2.5bn to acquire Eversholt Rail from former owners 3i Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and [...]