Investors express alarm at CMA U-turn

Investors have rallied in response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s revised approach to the cost of capital in the PR19 appeals. Infrastructure investment groups warned of long-term repercussions of the CMA’s change of tack, with one suggesting it brought the water sector “perilously close to the edge” of not being attractive to investors. Meanwhile, Ofwat warned the CMA that arguments are “likely to have been from investors that seek to protect their existing valuations” rather than concern for future investment.