Leep Utilities, the independent multi-utility operator, announces that it has reached an agreement to purchase SSE Water, the New Appointments and Variations (NAV) company, from SSE plc.  The transaction is expected to complete by the end of March and is conditional on approvals typical of a transaction of this nature.

Leep Utilities is a joint-venture between Ancala Partners LLP, the mid-market infrastructure investment manager, and the Peel Group, one of the UK’s leading private real estate investment and infrastructure companies. Leep owns and operates regulated and non-regulated utility networks, including electricity, water and district heating networks, with a portfolio of sites across the country.

SSE Water was established in 2008 under licence from Ofwat. It owns water networks that supply around 20,000 customers across 28 sites in southern England and Wales. It is the largest NAV company operating in the UK’s water sector.

Leep will combine SSE Water with its own operations in the sector, which includes two networks, or ‘insets’, at MediaCityUK, the technology and media hub home to the BBC & ITV in Manchester, and Liverpool International Business Park, which is recognised as a premier business location in the North West of England, and is home to a mixed portfolio of light commercial and industrial businesses.