ScottishPower has sold the last Southern Water business in its divestment programme to raise a total of £90m -- £20m more than the original target set for the disposals.

Greenhill Enterprises, a Hampshire-based landfill and mineral extraction company, has been sold for £10.6m to Haul Waste Group, a subsidiary of South West Water. The 28 staff will transfer to the new owners.

ScottishPower, which took over Southern Water in August 1996, announced last December that it aimed to sell the 13 subsidiaries it considered non-essential to Southern Water's core operations by March 1998.

The programme was designed to release around £70m in cash as well as improve profitability and customer service by enabling Southern Water to focus on its core water and wastewater business. Southern Water's vehicle leasing firm, Topmark, was sold for £42m last week. Other companies sold include Paperstream, Clinical Waste, IT Southern, Ecoclear and ERG.

Mike Kinski, Chairman and Chief Executive of Southern Water, said: "It is good news for all our customers and allows us now to focus solely on our core water and wastewater operations in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex and Isle of Wight."

Ian Robinson, Chief Executive of ScottishPower, said: "We have more than achieved our targets for the divestment which will provide added value for shareholders well ahead of schedule. This was a demanding programme and the team deserves a great deal of credit for delivering ahead of plan."

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