General Information

Bristol Water plc ("the Company") is a public company, limited by shares, with irredeemable preference shares and debenture stock listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The Company is incorporated and domiciled in England, United Kingdom. The address of its registered office is Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS13 7AT, England.

Basis of preparation

The financial information contained in this interim announcement does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The interim accounts have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 104 "Interim Financial Reporting" issued by the Financial Reporting Council and the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

The Company has adopted FRS 101 "Reduced disclosure framework - Disclosure exemptions from EU-adopted IFRS for qualifying entities".

Accounting policies

The same accounting policies used in preparing the annual financial statements as at 31 March 2023 have been used in preparing these interim accounts.

Going concern

Following the transfer of the Company's licence, trade, assets and obligations to South West Water Limited on 1 February 2023, the Company's remaining obligations will be met by matching intra-group contracted assets and related receipts. The Company has received confirmation from Pennon Group plc that it will provide support to the Company should it be required, to meet its liabilities as they fall due for the period which covers the period from approval of these interim financial statements through to 30 November 2024.  As a result, the Directors have concluded that the Company has adequate resources, or the reasonable expectation of raising further resources as required, to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Company therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements. Further information on the Company's borrowings is given in note 12.

Change in accounting policies

As at 30 September 2022, the Company's accounting policies were aligned to its parent company Pennon Group plc resulting in a restatement of the opening balance sheet as at 1 April 2022.  At 31 March 2023 the estimates used in the September 2022 interim financial statements were updated resulting in a small additional change to the opening retained earnings and deferred tax liability balances as at 1 April 2022. The Company's financial statements for the comparative period, i.e. 30 September 2022, have been restated so all periods are comparable.  The impact of this adjustment also includes the correction of a presentational error whereby deferred tax assets should have been offset against deferred tax liabilities in line with IAS 12 and a change in the presentation of current tax liability as a separate line item in the balance sheet in line with IAS 1.

Critical accounting estimates and judgments

The preparation of interim financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expense.  Actual results may differ from these estimates.  Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the financial year relate to the defined benefit scheme. The significant judgements made by management in applying the Company's accounting policies and the key sources of estimate uncertainty relating to the defined benefit scheme were the same as those applied to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.