South East Water spent more on dividends and debt than infrastructure

Who do privatised water companies serve? Their customers or their shareholders?

Certainly this article thinks that it's the latter, noting that they've spend more on servicing their debt and paying dividends to shareholders rather than investing in infrastructure.

South East Water paid £156m in dividends, £72.8m in interest over the last two years.

This surpassed the £179.8m spent on infrastructure.

However, it's only for a two-year period to March 2022, which probably means that this hasn't always been the case. However, either way; it's not a good look for the company in the present environment.

And perhaps another example of deep-rooted regulatory failure?

Feargal Sharkey is not impressed.