Water firms use up to 28% of bill payments to service debt in areas of England

As English water companies plan to hike bills, the Guardian reveals customers are paying a high price for combined debts of 60bn

• How much of your water bill is swallowed up by company debt?

More than a quarter of water bills in London and parts of the south of England have been spent paying interest on the debt held by privatised water companies, the Guardian can reveal.

Guardian analysis of financial data for all 14 English water companies found the industry has paid close to 20p for every pound of revenue on servicing debt on average over the past five years. But the cost of interest and fees associated with debt soars for customers in the south-east. For three companies, Thames Water, Southern Water and South East Water, which provide water for 9.4 million households and businesses, the cost of servicing debt is more than a quarter of water bills.