Aggressive growth puts water supplier in profit

Blairgowrie-based Castle Water moves into the black after bolt-on acquisitions deliver huge uplift in full-year revenues

A fast-growing water supply company which is headquartered in Perthshire has moved into profit.

Newly published accounts show Blairgowrie-based Castle Water – a wholly owned subsidiary of British Virgin Islands registered Castle Water Holdings Ltd – generated revenues of £17.89 million in the year to March 31.

The figure represents a huge leap in turnover from the £2.9m reported in 2016 and reflects an aggressive growth strategy that saw the firm acquire the business customers of Portsmouth and Thames Water in 2016.

It has since followed up with the acquisition of Ayr-based rival Cobalt Water and secured a place on the multimillion-pound Crown Commercial Services framework.

The accounts also show the firm – which is one of Perthshire’s largest private-sector employers, with more than 200 staff based at its Blairgowrie customer service centre – reported a pre-tax profit of £1.04m in the 12 months, a significant improvement on the £730,232 loss of the prior year.

In his directors’ report to the accounts, chief executive John Reynolds said the company had made significant progress.

“The principal activity of the company in the year to March 31, 2017 was the provision of water retail services to non-household customers in the UK, providing billing, meter reading and a range of customer services,” he said.

“During the year and ahead of the English market opening for competition between suppliers with effect from April 1, 2017, the company extended its operations into the English nonhousehold market, acquiring the licence rights and obligations of both Thames Water Utilities Ltd and Portsmouth Water Ltd to provide retail services to non-household customers.”

Mr Reynolds said the firm would continue to develop.

He added: “The company will continue to seek ways to grow market share, both organically and through acquisitions.”

Castle Water CEO John Reynolds.