The Commons environment committee told South East Water’s board on Friday that it has lost confidence in chief executive David Hinton and the senior team after a string of supply cuts. More than 300,000 customers suffered outages since 2020, including a two‑week freeze before Christmas that left 30,000 homes reliant on bottled water. MPs called the leadership “devoid of proper direction” in the capital region.

Regulators warned the utility for four years to upgrade pipes and storage, yet investment lagged. Ofwat is now consulting on a £22.46mn fine for repeated outages between 2020 and 2023, while the company carries a £1.3bn debt load. It paid £1.2bn in interest and dividends from 2011‑2025, almost matching the £1.5bn spent on capital projects.

Shareholders – Utilities Trust of Australia (50%), Desjardins (25%) and NatWest Group Pension Fund (25%) – face criticism that they share responsibility for the governance failures. NatWest’s pension arm has pressed the board to overhaul leadership and culture. With licence breaches already recorded, investors now weigh the risk of further regulatory penalties against the utility’s strained balance sheet and could trigger a licence review.