South Staffordshire Plc is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners. The transaction covers Cambridge Water's regulated and non-regulated activities. As at 31 December 2010, Cambridge Water had audited gross assets of £61.6m.
South Staffordshire Plc is a private company limited by shares and incorporated in the United Kingdom. It is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners. South Staffordshire Plc is the holding company for South Staffordshire Water PLC and its other non-regulated service businesses that operate predominantly in the UK water sector.
Cambridge Water is a water only company supplying 310,000 people in the city of Cambridge and the surrounding area and is approximately a quarter of the size of South Staffs Water.
As South Staffordshire Plc now owns two water companies there will be an automatic referral of the acquisition to the Competition Commission. The process will take approximately 6 months to complete, during which time the two water companies will continue to operate independently. No changes are therefore planned as a result of this change in ownership.
Adrian Page, Executive Director of South Staffordshire Plc, commented :
“This is an exciting opportunity for South Staffordshire Plc. Cambridge Water is an excellent business and is very similar to South Staffs Water as both water companies aim to deliver excellent service to our customers and this will not change going forward”.