Ancala Partners invests further capital into Portsmouth Water alongside sustainability-linked financing for £120m Havant Thicket Reservoir project to provide vital water resources to the South East of England

• Funds managed by Ancala Partners have committed additional equity funding to support Portsmouth Water’s Havant Thicket Reservoir project, the first major reservoir to be developed in the UK since the 1980s.
• Portsmouth Water has also signed a sustainability-linked financing package to fund the reservoir project.  
• The £120 million project sets a precedent for the development of future water assets with unique long-term bulk supply agreement with neighbouring water company, Southern Water.
• With the South East of England under ‘serious water stress’, Havant Thicket Reservoir will deliver future water resilience for generations to come in the region.

London, 6 April 2021 – Ancala Partners, an experienced investor in critical mid-market infrastructure, will make a substantial further equity investment into Portsmouth Water, a leading regulated water business in the UK, to fund construction of the Havant Thicket Reservoir and support other growth projects. Alongside the additional funding, Portsmouth Water has signed a sustainability-linked financing package with ING, NatWest and Siemens to fund the reservoir project. The financing package features a margin-based incentive linked to Portsmouth Water’s performance against environmental and social targets such as water leakage, supply interruptions, carbon reduction, biodiversity and affordability, actively integrating ESG metrics into the company’s financing strategy.

Havant Ticket Reservoir is the first major reservoir to be developed in the UK since the 1980s. The £120 million project will play a key role in reducing abstraction from the South East’s internationally renowned chalk streams, the River Itchen and River Test. Portsmouth Water will work in partnership with Southern Water to enable the reliable delivery of 21 million litres of water a day for Southern Water customers in Hampshire, through an 80-year bulk supply agreement.  The reservoir is expected to be fully operational by 2029.

With the UK facing the effects of climate change and a growing population, this unique partnership structure, where one water company shares supplies with another company’s customers, represents the first of its kind, and a new way of working within the UK regulated water sector.

In addition to valuable water resources, Havant Thicket Reservoir will provide a new green leisure hub for communities close to the site. A 110 hectares of woodland and pasture will be created or improved and a new 10 hectare wetland will also be established. A long-term grant scheme will also be initiated to support environmental projects in the local area.

In addition to funding the reservoir, the further equity investment will allow the company to pursue additional growth opportunities. These include the development of renewable generation capacity to supply the company’s operations with green electricity.

Lee Mellor, Partner, Ancala Partners commented, “The Havant Thicket Reservoir is an important project for Portsmouth Water and will secure vital water resources for South East England. We are delighted to be supporting the project through additional investment into the company. The sustainability-linked financing secured by Portsmouth Water will incentivise the achievement of our ESG objectives. Enhancing the ESG performance of our portfolio companies is core to our active asset management philosophy.”

Bob Taylor CEO, Portsmouth Water said, “Havant Thicket Reservoir will help to ensure there’s enough water to go around in our water-stressed regions in the decades ahead. Securing the financing package represents a significant step towards progressing with this major project – the first UK reservoir to be built since the 1980s. We’re determined it will provide many benefits for our communities, the environment and wildlife, and that is why our financing package has been linked to meeting crucial ESG targets.”

For more information, see the website: www.ancala.com or contact:

Brunswick Group
Samantha Chiene / Sophia Paris
Tel: +44 207 404 5959
Email:  moc.puorgkciwsnurb@alacna

For more on Havant Thicket Reservoir and Portsmouth Water and Southern Water’s innovative collaboration to secure future water resources, please visit www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/havant-thicket-reservoir or www.southernwater.co.uk/water-for-life-hampshire, or contact:

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Rebecca Burgess
Tel:  +44 7859 896360
Email: moc.15etaerc@acceber