ScottishPower has sold Southern Waters Topmark vehicle leasing business for £42m, with the result that the total amount realised from its ambitious divestment programme announced last year easily beats the £70m target.

Topmark, based near Birmingham and employing around 70 people, was sold on a debt-free basis to the Smith Self Drive Group Limited. Existing staff will transfer with the business.

The latest sale -- the 14th and biggest of Southern Water's non-core companies -- takes the total raised from the divestment programme to date to around £79m. Only Greenhill, a gravel extraction and landfill business, remains to be sold which will take the total cash raised even higher.

ScottishPower, which took over Southern Water in August 1996, announced last December that it aimed to sell the subsidiaries it considered non-essential to Southern Water's core water and wastewater operations by March 1998.

The overall programme was designed to release around £70m in cash while both improving profitability and customer service by enabling Southern Water to focus on its core operations. Other companies sold have included Paperstream, Clinical Waste, IT Southern, Ecoclear and ERG.

Mike Kinski, Chairman and Chief Executive of Southern Water, said: "Our success in divesting these non-core businesses means we are now able to offer Southern Water customers a better service by concentrating on what we do best."

Ian Robinson, Chief Executive of ScottishPower, said: "We are delighted that the ambitious divestment programme we launched less than a year ago has been virtually completed well ahead of targets both in time and money raised. The restructuring is delivering full value for shareholders while allowing Southern Water to focus on its core activities."

Further information:
Sue Clark,                Director of Corporate Affairs             0141-248-8200
Colin McSeveny,         Media Relations Manager                0141-248-8200