Severn Trent customer water bills to rise by almost 37% by end of decade

Firm raises 1bn in investment - half from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund - to improve network over five years

Severn Trent is to increase customers' bills by almost 37% by the end of the decade and has raised 1bn in investment - half from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund - to pay for a multibillion investment plan to improve its water network over the next five years.

The company, which has 4.2 million customers, said the average annual household bill will rise from 379 in 2024-2025 to 518 in 2029-2030.