Soaring profits for Severn Trent 'a slap in the face for residents who have endured rising bills' - Shropshire MP

The water firm, which hiked up customer bills by an average of 21 per cent in April, saw profits rise by more than half to £320 million last year, it was revealed today (Wednesday, May 21).

Moreover, annual revenue rose by 3.8 per cent to £2.4 billion, the company said. 

North Shropshire Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan called it a "stark reminder of the broken water system that puts corporate profits ahead of public and environmental welfare".

The MP has repeatedly called for regulator Ofwat to be scrapped and replaced, and for water bosses' bonuses to be banned. 

Analysis by the Liberal Democrat party said company executives at Severn Trent earned a total income of £4,969,000 - including basic pay, pension contributions and bonuses. The party said this is the highest collective income for water company bosses of any company last year.

The Lib Dems added that the water company recorded the equivalent of more than 1,000 days of sewage spills into the River Severn and its tributaries in 2024. 

A study stated that the the longest spill into the River Severn lasted for the equivalent of 117 days and that a spill into the Quinny Brook - which flows through the Shropshire Hills - lasted 217 days.

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Severn Trent's customer operations director Steph Crawley told the Shropshire Star on Monday, May 19 that the water company, which delivers two billion litres of it to 4.6 million homes each day, will be investing £400 million across its network on 843 miles of new pipes to keep supplies moving. 

She added that the company aims to reduce leakage by another 15 per cent in the next five years and halve the volume of water lost from the network by 2045.

But Mrs Morgan has responded angrily to the news, saying: "This is yet another slap in the face for communities who have endured flooding, rising bills, and raw sewage pouring into our rivers and streams. The era of record rewards for water company bosses who are polluting at record levels must end.

"While families across the Midlands suffer from leaks, flooding issues and sewage spills, Severn Trent has posted record profits – lining the pockets of executives rather than investing in real solutions. Consecutive Conservative and Labour governments have allowed this crisis to spiral out of control. Their failure to rein in the water companies has left us with polluted waterways and communities vulnerable to flooding with little support.

"The Liberal Democrats have long called for Ofwat to be replaced with a proper watchdog that has the teeth to punish polluters and force investment in infrastructure to protect our homes and environment."

Severn Trent said it is spending £1.7 billion to reduce spills at storm overflows across the Severn Trent region, including £140m in Shropshire.

It added that it is investing in 119 miles of new water pipes in Shropshire and creating 49 new local jobs - a £46m investment.

Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Water chief executive, said: "We’re focused on getting things done - with our largest ever investment of £1.7 billion in the people and places we serve, delivering major infrastructure improvements across the region. We’re proud to be a successful business, sharing another year of record performance and continually improving service and value for our customers. 

"Our strong operational and environmental performance has been made possible by our financial strength. The £1bn equity raise we secured ahead of this five-year business cycle, combined with strong financing and cost control, has given us the firepower to invest in our growth plan and will see us create 7,000 new jobs in our communities and through our supply chain. 

"These results are testament to the dedication of our brilliant people at Severn Trent who live and breathe a commitment to delivering better services, protecting and improving river health and cutting leakage with major upgrades to the network. We look forward to building on this momentum, helping to power future growth and playing our part to boost the regional economy."