Rating

South East Water Limited

28 May 2026

 

South East Water (Finance) Limited

Response to Moody's ratings action

South East Water (Finance) Limited ("SEWF"), the financing subsidiary of South East Water Limited ("South East Water" or the "Company") notes the credit rating downgrade published today by Moody's Ratings ("Moody's").

The ratings action has resulted in SEWF's backed and underlying senior secured rating changing to Ba1 from Baa3 and assigned a Ba1 Corporate Family Rating (CFR) and Ba2-PD probability of default rating to South East Water. 

South East Water maintains strong liquidity and a resilient capital structure. Based on current forecasts, Moody's expects the Company to demonstrate solid financial metrics for its assigned rating level.

As a condition of its operating licence with the regulator, Ofwat, South East Water must maintain at least two investment grade credit ratings. The Board of South East Water is constructively engaging with Ofwat to agree certain commitments that will secure a return to compliance with its licence conditions. The commitments once agreed with Ofwat will be communicated.

Following network incidents last year and the subsequent impact these had on South East Water's stakeholders, the Company is implementing a company-wide transformation to improve its operational performance and fundamentally strengthen South East Water's network resilience. 

This will enable South East Water to deliver record levels of investment, with the support of customers across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, totalling £2.1 billion between 2025-2030.

Any queries should be directed by email to James Grant ([e-mail]), Craig Stansfield ([e-mail]), and Aman Randhawa ([e-mail]). 

ENDS.

 

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