London, April 30, 2026, 14:02 (BST)
Shares of United Utilities Group PLC surged to an all-time high Thursday, after the company announced plans for an £800 million equity raise and a share sale. United Utilities also bumped up its 2025-30 capital investment target to around £11.5 billion from the previous £9 billion. According to the water supplier, the expanded budget is aimed at upgrading water and wastewater infrastructure across north-west England, covering projects linked to housing, data centres, and clean energy.
Share sales usually drag on a stock by diluting shareholders. Not so here—the market saw it as a way to bankroll a regulated growth blueprint. Jefferies analyst Ahmed Farman called out “the higher growth, coming with a robust balance sheet” as a plus for United Utilities and the wider water sector. Reuters
Conditions remain tricky. Ofwat, which regulates water and sewerage firms in England and Wales, continues to oversee a sector battered by ongoing criticism over pollution, payouts, and Thames Water’s balance sheet woes. Britain’s biggest water supplier keeps drawing attention.
United Utilities flagged that the step-up falls within AMP8, the current five-year regulatory window set to end in March 2030. On Thursday, the company put forward around £1.4 billion in additional investment to Ofwat, with another £1.2 billion or so anticipated for submission during 2027 and 2028. That would bring the total incremental investment figure to roughly £2.5 billion.
United Utilities shares jumped 11.62% to 1,464.50 pence by early afternoon in London. Pennon climbed 7.07%, while Severn Trent tacked on 8.01%. The numbers suggest the update buoyed sentiment throughout the UK’s listed water sector, not just for United Utilities.
Chief Executive Louise Beardmore said the “BIG North West upgrade is now well underway,” highlighting more than 1,000 active projects in the region and support from over 100 supply-chain partners. The company also flagged progress on storm overflow spills and sewer flooding—issues regulators and customers track closely. Investegate
The full-year figures helped justify the raise. For the twelve months ended March 31, preliminary unaudited results showed underlying revenue—excluding items the company doesn’t count as regular performance—climbed 20.1% to £2.576 billion. Underlying operating profit came in 34.8% higher at £1.060 billion. Reported pretax profit more than doubled, reaching £779 million.
The 2026 “re-opener” package, a regulatory mechanism for green-lighting extra expenditure, contains roughly £770 million earmarked for growth projects. This covers data-centre water infrastructure in East Manchester, a non-potable supply line for the Ellesmere Port clean energy cluster, and wastewater improvements benefiting 66,000 homes. Another £410 million is set aside for asset replacement, and about £190 million goes toward Windermere initiatives and other strategic water resources.
United Utilities is looking to offload roughly 9% of its stock, according to bookrunner updates cited by Reuters, with the price set between 1,279 and 1,312 pence per share—a discount that tops out at 2.5% from Wednesday’s close. The company’s guidance for 2026/27 puts underlying revenue between £2.7 billion and £2.8 billion, up from the £2.58 billion recorded this past year.
United Utilities is forecasting around £2 billion in capital expenditures for the next financial year, targeting roughly 10% asset base growth—covering the regulated value of its network and other assets—if CPIH inflation holds at 3.6%. CPIH, which factors in owner-occupier housing costs, remains the company’s benchmark for dividend growth, set to deliver 55.54 pence per share.
Ofwat, not the market, could end up calling the shots here. Draft rulings for the 2026 filing land on Aug. 15, final decisions locked in by Dec. 15. United Utilities is already bracing for a hit—a customer outcome-delivery-incentive penalty tied to regulatory targets, expected 2026/27. If costs come in higher, projects slip, or performance lags, the expanded program would stretch margins and strain trust even further.
