§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the water privatisation share issue.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory[holding answer 15 January 1990]Over 2.7 million applications for shares in the 10 water plcs were received. The public offers were nearly 5.7 times oversubscribed. After clawback of shares from institutional and overseas offers, almost 47 per cent. of the shares available were allocated to the public. Nearly 1.35 million registered customers applied for incentives and preference in their local company. We allocated to registered customers 57.5 per cent. of the shares available to the public.
The response from the public represents the second-highest level of applications for any privatisation. This is a privatisation that will bring benefits for the environment, for customers and for the 10 water plcs.