We're committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and leadership, and we recognise the importance of demonstrating to customers, shareholders, investors, regulators and other stakeholders how we do this.
Our Board makes sure we’re open and honest in everything we do. They’re also responsible for making sure we behave ethically and always aim for high standards of performance when it comes to our services and protecting the environment.
We have a Corporate Governance Code to make sure we regularly review and improve how we’re run. It also makes sure we’re transparent about how we do things.
The diagram below shows how our corporate governance framework works in practice.
Who runs South East Water?
Matters relating to operations, that is your water supply, are considered and decided by the board of South East Water Limited and no decisions are reserved for other parties (such as shareholders or parent companies) save for those required legally (under the UK’s Companies Act 2006).
Several board committees help oversee the business. Here’s who’s on each committee:
Nomination Committee
Chair: Chris Train (Independent Non-Executive Director)
Other Members: Célia Pronto (Independent Non-Executive Director), Caroline Sheridan (Independent Non-Executive Director), Mark McArdle (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated), Michael McKinstry (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated)
Remuneration Committee
Chair: Célia Pronto (Independent Non-Executive Director)
Other members: Chris Train (Independent Non-Executive Director), Caroline Sheridan (Independent Non-Executive Director), Mark McArdle (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated), Michael McKinstry (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated)
Audit and Risk Committee
Chair: Lisa Clement (Independent Non-Executive Director)
Other members: Célia Pronto (Independent Non-Executive Director), Caroline Sheridan (Independent Non-Executive Director), Mark McArdle (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated), Michael McKinstry (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated)
Responsible Business Committee
Chair: Mark McArdle (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated)
Other members: Lisa Clement (Independent Non-Executive Director), Caroline Sheridan (Independent Non-Executive Director), Michael McKinstry (Non-Executive Director – Shareholder Nominated), David Hinton (Executive Director)
Find out more
Asset management policy(opens in a new tab)
Our tax policy(opens in a new tab)
Our Corporate Governance Code(opens in a new tab)
Our dividend policy(opens in a new tab)
What our nomination committee does(opens in a new tab)
What our remuneration committee does(opens in a new tab)
What our audit and risk committee does(opens in a new tab)
Our diversity policy(opens in a new tab)
Matters reserved for the board(opens in a new tab)
What our responsible business committee does(opens in a new tab)
Who owns South East Water?
The ultimate owners of HDF (UK) Holdings Ltd are:
- Utilities of Australia Pty Ltd as Trustee for the Utilities Trust of Australia
- NatWest Pension Trustee Limited as trustee for the NatWest Group Pension Fund (Main Fund Section)
- Three entities of the Desjardins cooperative financial group based in Quebec (Régime de rentes du Mouvement Desjardins, Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company and Certas Home and Auto Insurance Company)
How much have our shareholders contributed?
This table shows the net cash position of shareholders in South East Water since the start of AMP7 (April 2020). It captures all cash shareholders contributed to the business, balanced against all cash leaving the business to shareholders in the form of loan note interest. The table highlights that shareholders are significant net contributors, with a total net contribution of £392.3m to the business over the period.
All Shareholders Net Cash Contributions to South East Water of £392.3m (Since Start of AMP7) ****
| Year end in March* | Cash received by shareholders** | New shareholder capital added | Net cash contributed/(received) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ M | £ M | £ M | |
| 2020/21 (A) | (7.2) | 0.0 | (7.2) |
| 2021/22 (A) | (5.5) | 0.0 | (5.5) |
| 2022/23 (A) | (7.4) | 0.0 | (7.4) |
| 2023/24 (A) | (10.0) | 150.0 *** | 140.0 |
| 2024/25 (A) | (2.6) | 75.0 | 72.4 |
| 2025/26 (A) | 0.0 | 200.0 | 200.0 |
| Total (from Apr-2020 to Mar-2026) | (32.7) | 425.0 | 392.3 |
* A stands for Actual.
** The cash taken out by shareholders was purely interest payments on loans they provided to the business; no standard dividends were paid out during this time.
*** The £150m injection was used to pay back the external holding company debt, ensuring the overall financial stability and resilience of the wider business group.
****UTA (50%) - Utilities of Australia Pty Ltd (as Trustee of Utilities Trust of Australia). NW (25%) NatWest Pension Trustee Ltd as Trustee for the NatWest Group Pension Fund (Main Fund Section). Three entities of the Desjardins (25%) cooperative financial group based in Quebec (Régime de Rentes du Mouvement Desjardins, Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company and Certas Home and Auto Insurance Company).
What our group companies do
- South East Water is the main operating company. This means we ’re the ones who supply your water.
- South East Water (Finance) is the company that holds a significant part of the debt raised by the group. It is registered in the Cayman Islands for historic company law reasons but it is resident in the UK for tax purposes.
- South East Water (Holdings) makes sure the operating company is protected from any financial difficulties in the companies higher up the ownership chain.
Our history
