Company Company profile
United Utilities PLC was created from the merger of North West Water and Norweb in November 1995. Its shares are listed on both the London Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange (in the form of ADRs). The company is a member of the FTSE 100 group of leading UK listed companies and employs over 17,000 people.
Its principal activities are managing and operating the regulated electricity distribution, water and wastewater networks in north west England, a region with a population of around seven million.
In August 2000, United Utilities sold its electricty and gas supply business and as a result no longer has any significant exposure to the competitive UK generation and supply market.
As well as operating utility networks in the north west, the group also owns two support services businesses, United Utilities Contract Solutions and Vertex. These businesses employ a limited amount of capital and seek to exploit the group's core provides infrastructure management and business process outsourcing skills in competitive markets.
United Utilities also operates a medium-sized alternative telecommunications provider called Your Communications. This has a dense network in the north of England, complemented by a lean national network.
