The chief executive of Welsh Water, which in April increased average bills to consumers by 27%, is to retire next spring. The not-for profit water company, which doesn鈥檛 have any external shareholders and funds capital investment through bonds, said it has appointed headhunters to help find a successor to Peter Perry.
He joined what was then a nationalised water company as an apprentice in the early 1980s. He was appointed chief executive in 2020 having previously been its managing director.
In its financial year to the end of March, 2024, Mr Perry鈥檚 had a total remuneration of 拢489,000- excluding pension accruals and long-term incentive plan - compared to 拢380,000 a year earlier. His remuneration included just over 拢91,000 in anexecutive performance related award under its annual variable pay scheme.
Commenting on his decision to stand down, Mr Perry said: 鈥淲elsh Water has been a part of my life since I left school. I鈥檓 incredibly proud to have spent my career in an organisation that plays such a key role in protecting public health and makes a genuine difference every single day.
鈥淭o have had the opportunity to lead the company as chief executive has been a huge honour as well as seeing the tireless work and sacrifices made by colleagues when trying to maintain our services, especially during some exceptional weather events. I鈥檓 proud of what we鈥檝e achieved together and the strong foundations we鈥檝e laid for the next five years and beyond. I have every confidence that Welsh Water will continue to go from strength to strength in the years ahead and I will continue to drive such improvement until my retirement.鈥
Welsh Water鈥檚 chair, Jane Hanson , said: 鈥淧eter鈥檚 story is truly inspirational 鈥 from apprentice to chief executive, his journey embodies everything that Welsh Water stands for in terms of values. His leadership has been defined by a deep understanding of the business, a genuine care for our people and customers, and a commitment to doing the right thing now and for the long term. On behalf of the board and everyone at Welsh Water, I want to sincerely thank Peter for his exceptional service and wish him every happiness in his retirement.鈥
Mr Perry is also currently chair of Business in the Community Cymru, and is an advisor on the 海角视频 Resilience Forum, where he has chaired the 海角视频 water鈥檚 sector strategic platinum incident management group.
Rating agency鈥檚 Moody鈥檚 and Fitch recently downgraded its ratings for Welsh Water. Moody鈥檚 said its downgrade, while still a stable outlook, reflected its view that Welsh Water will be unable to maintain an average net debt to regulatory capital value less than or equal to 60% as commensurate wit its previous A3 rating.
At the time Welsh Water said the downgrades would not impact its bond financing costs. It said: 鈥淭here is no impact. Existing bonds remain at the rate they were issued - they do not change. As for new debt to be issued, we have not seen spreads increase since the ratings actions. The ratings actions were largely expected by the market and already priced in. Spreads have been stable since the start of the year, having settled down after the final determination (new five year business plan approved by Ofwat).
