The pressure is rising on Britain’s water companies. Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, wants to renationalise the sector; Michael Gove, the environment secretary, has lambasted companies for failing to act in the public interest; and Ofwat, the water regulator, is threatening that its forthcoming price-setting review will be the toughest since privatisation.
Though the worst of the ire is directed at privately owned companies with murky foreign ownership and tax structures and some notably awful customer service failings, the three listed water stocks — the likes of Severn Trent, United Utilities and Pennon — are not out of the political crosshairs and that, in turn, has taken a toll on their share prices. Since May last year, the stock of each has fallen by a