Castle secures £100m to pay wholesale charges in advance

Castle Water has secured new £100m financing facilities to ensure it can pay up front charges to wholesalers.

The sector’s largest independent water retailer, which serves over 300,000 business, charity and public sector customers across England and Scotland, has agreed the four-year financing facilities with the Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Santander.

They include working capital facilities required to pay water charges in advance to water wholesalers nationally and in particular to Thames Water, Scottish Water, South East Water and Portsmouth Water where the company has heavy concentrations of customers.

Chief executive of Castle Water, John Reynolds (pictured), said: “This refinancing places Castle Water in a strong position to continue expansion in the UK business water market, with a competitive cost of capital enabling us to continue to offer savings for our customers. With financial pressures causing problems for many other utility suppliers, it is important for our customers to know that Castle Water’s financial position is stable, that we have the financial capacity to support our strategy, with a highly credible bank group comprising Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Santander.”

Iolo Morris, chief finance officer, added: “The terms of the financing reflect our strong financial position now the water market has been operating for nearly two years. Castle Water has carefully managed its credit risk, with around 80% of new contracts coming from the English public sector.”