. 

Citigroup is selling 17% of its 37% stake in the business, while fund manager M&G is selling its 13% holding.

In a three-year period since being taken private for £3 billion by a consortium of international investors led by Citigroup in 2008, Yorkshire Water generated £2.6bn in turnover and £990m in operating profits and yet received a net tax credit of £46.2m.

According to sources, the utility could now be worth more than £5 billion.

Bids for the company are due by the middle of next month, the Sunday Times said. The Goldman Sachs and Allianz approach is expected to face stiff competition from other investors as the water industry has become an increasingly attractive investment for investors expecting a steady return on their capital.

KKR & Co. has announced in May 2013 that it had acquired South Staffordshire Plc, a central England water supplier, from Alinda Capital Partners LLC. In June 2013, a consortium of Borealis Infrastructure, the Kuwait Investment Office and the British Universities Superannuation Scheme tried to acquire Severn Trent, the biggest publicly traded English water company, serving more than seven million people.