Southern Water boss to forgo bonus following industry announcement

Lawrence Gosden was announced as the water company’s new CEO in summer last year and has announced today that he will not be taking any bonus in his first year in the role.

The statement came following an announcement from water companies across England apologising for repeated sewage spills and promising investment of £10 billion into storm overflows between 2025 and 2030.

Lawrence Gosden, CEO of Southern Water, said: “I am completely supportive of the Water UK announcement today, committing to system-wide action and investment of £10 billion on storm overflows and apologise that action was not taken sooner on sewage spills in the South-East.

“At Southern Water, we’re already working to reduce the number of storm overflows, investing significant money to build bigger infrastructure and redesign a legacy Victorian sewer system, as well as using innovative technology and natural solutions. Further to this, in June, we will be announcing more detail on our plans and how we will work with our stakeholders and communities to deliver.

“Our board is sensitive to customer concerns on remuneration and has developed pay and bonus policies that reflect our environmental and customer service performance, as well as the challenges of our turnaround. In my first year as CEO, I will not be taking any bonus, because we have clearly not met the wider expectations of our customers."