Senior executives at Wessex Water were paid an additional £50,000 from a parent company in the same financial year the utility was prohibited from awarding bonuses, a Guardian investigation has revealed.
Undisclosed Payments to Top Brass
Chief executive Ruth Jefferson received £24,000 and chief financial officer Andy Pymer was paid £27,000 in the year to June 2025. The payments came from Wessex Water Ltd, the parent company of the regulated supplier Wessex Water Services Ltd. The Malaysian YTL group, which owns Wessex Water, confirmed the payments but insisted they were not bonuses.
These sums were on top of their salaries from the regulated company, which were £440,000 for Jefferson and £249,000 for Pymer. The existence of the extra payments was hinted at in company accounts but their size was not disclosed, raising significant transparency concerns.
A Controversial Bonus Ban and Corporate Secrecy
The payments emerged in a year when Wessex Water was subject to a government ban on bonus payments to its CEO and CFO. This ban was imposed because of a criminal conviction related to a sewage pumping station failure six years prior, which killed over 2,000 fish and resulted in a £500,000 fine.
YTL initially provided unclear answers about the source of the money, stating it came from "YTL UK"—a company not listed on the UK register. After repeated questioning, the firm admitted the payments were made by Wessex Water Ltd. A company spokesperson stated that neither executive "received any bonus from any source" during the year and that the payments to Jefferson were made before she was subject to the ban.
Political Outcry and Regulatory Scrutiny
The revelation has sparked anger from politicians and increased scrutiny from regulator Ofwat. Sarah Dyke, the Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, condemned the "lack of transparency", accusing Wessex Water of "environmental vandalism" and taking customers "for fools".
This case is part of a wider pattern of opaque executive pay in the water industry. It follows the Guardian's previous revelation that former Wessex Water CEO Colin Skellett was paid a £170,000 bonus by YTL, and the disclosure that Yorkshire Water's chief executive received £1.3m in undisclosed pay via an offshore company.
Wessex Water defended its record, stating it has "always been transparent about its finances" and that its storm overflow issues are part of an "outdated sewerage system" it is investing to upgrade. However, the episode underscores ongoing debates about corporate governance, executive remuneration, and accountability in the privatised water sector.
