United Utilities Group plc (UU), the United Kingdom’s largest listed water company, was founded in 1995 as a result of the merger of North West Water and NORWEB. The group manages the regulated water and wastewater network in North West England, which includes Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, most of Cheshire and a small area of Derbyshire, which have a combined population of more than seven million.

The United Utilities Group was the electricity distribution network operator for the North-West until 2010 when its electricity subsidiary was sold to Electricity North West. United Utilities’ headquarters are in Warrington and the company has more than 5,000 direct employees. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

North West England is the wettest region in England, and water hardness across the region is soft to very soft.

In 1989 the North West Water Authority, which was responsible for the provision of water to the North West of England, was privatised and became North West Water Group plc. In 1995, the company acquired NORWEB plc, the then regional electricity distributor and supplier, and on 1 April 1996 changed its name to United Utilities plc.

In January 1998, United Utilities was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but delisted its shares in May 2007. In 2000, the North West Water and NORWEB branding was phased out in favour of United Utilities, the rebranding was completed by the end of 2001. The company sold some of the businesses it had acquired, its telecoms business, Your Communications was sold in February 2006, and Vertex in March 2007.

In December 2007, United Utilities sold its electricity distribution network assets to North West Electricity Networks (Jersey) Limited, a joint venture between funds run by Colonial First State and JPMorgan Chase. Electricity North West became the licensed Distribution Network Operator for the northwest of England as a result.

United Utilities operated and maintained the regional electricity network on behalf of Electricity North West until 2010, when Electricity North West bought the electricity network operations and maintenance arm from United Utilities to establish one Group.

In October 2011, United Utilities was selected as the preferred bidder by Severn Trent Water to purchase the Lake Vyrnwy estate for £11 million. United Utilities later withdrew from the bidding process. In February 2012, United Utilities proposed a national water pipeline linking water sources in Manchester to London. In April 2016, United Utilities received an 18-year loan of £500m from The European Investment Bank to support investment across the North West.

In May 2016, the Competition & Markets Authority granted United Utilities and Severn Trent Water approval to create a new joint venture company in preparation for the water market deregulation. In June 2016, United Utilities and Severn Trent Water formed Water Plus, in readiness to provide retail services for their non-household customers.

In May 2019, the company announced the appointment of Sir David Higgins as a non-executive director and to succeed Dr John McAdam as chairman.