Glas Cymru is a single purpose company formed to own, finance and manage Welsh Water. It is a ‘company limited by guarantee’ and because it has no shareholders, any financial surpluses are retained for the benefit of Welsh Water’s customers.
Under Glas Cymru's ownership, Welsh Water's assets and capital investment are financed by bonds and retained financial surpluses. All day-to-day activities are carried out by specialist contract partners employed by Welsh Water following a competitive procurement process. The Glas Cymru business model aims to reduce Welsh Water's asset financing cost, the water industry's single biggest cost, and improve service delivery by employing the best contract partners for each distinct activity in the business.
Financing efficiency savings to date have largely been used to build up reserves to insulate Welsh Water and its customers from any unexpected costs and also to improve credit quality so that Welsh Water's cost finance can be kept as low as possible in the years ahead. These savings have also funded some additional discretionary investment in service improvements and the annual 'customer dividend'.
