Anglia, Northumbrian Water Sky in talks to sell Wave unit - Sky

Anglian Water Group and Northumbrian Water Group are reportedly exploring a sale of the business supplier they set up six years ago.

The duo are in talks with potential bidders for Wave, which serves thousands of non-household customers in England and Scotland.

Wave, which provides water and wastewater services, was established in 2017 as a 50-50 joint venture between the two firms as they took advantage of new water industry rules introduced in 2017 which opened the non-household market up to competition.

The identity of its suitors was unclear on Thursday, while the price that a buyer might pay could not be ascertained, Sky News reported.

In a joint statement, Anglian and Northumbrian said: "Since market opening, we are proud that Wave has grown into one of the market leaders for retail water services, only last week winning Retailer of the Year at the Water industry Achievement Awards.

"As shareholders of a successful business, from time to time we get approaches from interested parties seeking to buy a stake in Wave, and we consider these offers alongside other opportunities for the continued growth and success of the business."

The decision to discuss a sale of Wave comes as the industry comes under intense public and political scrutiny. Last week, ministers were drawing up contingency plans to take Thames Water, the country's biggest supplier with 15m customers, into temporary public ownership.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com