2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

UNITED KINGDOM PART 3 (ii): COMPANY ANALYSIS: LOCAL/REGIONAL PLAYERS
Swan Group Plc
Swan Group is the new name for Mid Kent Holdings (MKH). The new name was adopted in order to
project a more geographically diverse identity. In March 2001, Swan Capital Group Ltd. launched a
management buyout of MKH, backed by West LB. The £106 million offer was declared unconditional
in May 2001 and the company was subsequently delisted. In February 2005, Utilities Trust of
Australia and the Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (both from Australia) acquired Swan Group.
Mid Kent Water Plc
Y/E 31/03 (£ million) 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Water supply 33.6 35.8 36.7 38.5 38.6
Other activities 3.0 2.9 4.4 4.5 4.6
Group turnover 36.6 38.7 41.1 43.0 43.2
Operating profit 8.8 14.2 11.5 14.2 14.1
Pre-tax profit 7.3 10.4 7.5 8.6 6.3
Mid Kent Water was founded in 1898, supplying 12 parishes in the mid Kent region. It became a Plc
through the formation of Mid Kent Holdings Plc in 1989. The company has 218,820 household and
23,800 business connections, serving 569,000 people in total. Mid Kent Water supplies water to
Maidstone and parts of Kent in South East England, with sewerage services being carried out by
Southern Water (First Aqua). A bitterly contested bid in 1996, by SAUR Water Services (Bouygues)
and the then called General Utilities Plc (Veolia Environnement) was blocked by the Monopolies and
Mergers Commission (MMC, now the Competition Commission) in January 1997. The two companies
sought to acquire Mid Kent Water because of its relatively abundant water resources, which bounded
companies owned by them that have been facing long time water shortages.
Leakage fell from 44Ml/day in 1992 to 29 Ml/day by 2005. There is a gradual shift towards measured
water supplies, which accounted for 45% of water supply revenues in 2003-04 and 46% in 2004-05.
During the summer of 2005, a hosepipe ban was brought into force due to resource depletion.
Non–regulated activities include Halcrow Water Services (consulting), Eclipse (testing and analytical
services), Inenco Group (utility consulting) and Waterlink Services (plumbing). Halcrow Water
Services was formed in 1995 as a joint venture between the Halcrow Group and Mid Kent Water. The
joint venture has carried out water projects in the UK (Scotland, Northern Ireland and southern
England), leakage reduction projects in Venezuela and Cyprus and other projects in India, Ecuador,
Poland and Indonesia.
Contact Details
Name: Swan Group Plc
Address: High Street,
Snodland, Kent, ME6 5AH
Tel: +44 1634 873 000
Fax: +44 1634 243 774
Web: www.midkentwater.co.uk
Web: www.swan-group.com
Mark Gomar (Chairman, Swan Group)
Richard Leigh (Finance Director)
Paul Butler (MD, Mid Kent Water)
Gordon Maxwell (Chairman, Mid Kent Water)
360 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006