South Staffs water is sold

An American company has splashed out £400 million to buy Black Country-based South Staffordshire Water, which employs 1,400 people across the region.

New York-based Alinda Infrastructure today insisted no jobs would be lost and pledged to customers that it would be business as usual.

South Staffordshire Water employs 600 at its Walsall headquarters and hundreds more at operations in Tipton and Lichfield.

The company, which supplies water to 1.25 million customers in the Midlands, as well as 36,000 commercial premises, has been sold by Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank to Alinda, a £1.5 billion institutional fund managed by New York-based Alinda Capital Partners.

The deal has netted a quick and substantial profit for Arcapita, which acquired the 154-year-old water utility business just three years ago for £245 million.

The South Staffordshire Water group includes the Echo and Rapid Systems, which provide customer contact management and billing services.

It also includes Lichfield-based Aqua Direct, a spring and mineral water and watercoolers business; Underground Pipeline Services, based in Tipton; and Hydrosave, a water management consultancy.

Alinda managing partner Chris Beale said the utility was an excellent buy for his business. He paid tribute to the management team and workers in the West Midlands, together with its "outstanding" operating history and a reputation for customer excellence.

Mr Beale said customers continue to receive the same service as before.

In the last financial year South Staffordshire Water, which covers large parts of the Black Country including Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley, as well as Sutton Coldfield, Cannock, Lichfield and Burton, generated £120 million revenue, making a profit of £27 million.