RNS Number:4085Q
Bristol Water Holdings PLC
01 October 2003


Bristol Water Holdings plc

1 October 2003


Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States,
Canada, Australia or Japan.



                           BRISTOL WATER HOLDINGS PLC

                      PROPOSED #50 MILLION RETURN OF VALUE

                     SCHEME OF ARRANGEMENT DOCUMENTS POSTED

Bristol Water Holdings plc announces that the Listing Particulars and Circular
in relation to the scheme of arrangement (the "Scheme") and listing of shares in
Bristol Water Group plc announced on 23 September 2003 will be posted to
Shareholders today.

As set out in the above documents, the Board's current expectation of the Scheme
timetable, which may be subject to change, is:

Court meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting                  28 October 2003
Court Hearing of petition to sanction the Scheme                 26 November 2003
Last date for dealings in shares of Bristol Water Holdings plc   26 November 2003
Scheme Effective Date                                            27 November 2003
Dealings in shares of Bristol Water Group plc commence           27 November 2003

If the Scheme is approved, Shareholders will exchange their shares in Bristol
Water Holdings plc for shares in a new holding company, Bristol Water Group plc,
on a one for one basis.


The Board currently intends that proposals for a return of share capital be put
to Shareholders shortly after the Scheme becoming effective, which would also be
subject to Court approval and the availability of finance. This should allow
payment to Shareholders to be made before the end of the Bristol Water Holdings
plc's current financial year. The Group's gearing would be increased.

The Directors currently intend to adopt, in due course, a sustainable dividend
cover policy broadly in line with other companies in the sector. The level of
future dividends will be influenced by, inter alia, Ofwat's periodic review of
prices for 2005-2010 and the additional interest incurred as a consequence of
any return of capital. Further details will be included with the announcement of
interim results for the period ended 30 September 2003, expected to be made on
or about 4 December 2003.

Copies of the Listing Particulars and Circular have been submitted to the UK
Listing Authority, and will shortly be available for inspection at the UK
Listing Authority's Document Viewing Facility, which is situated at:

Financial Services Authority
25 The North Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5HS

Terms used in this announcement shall have the same meaning as those in the
Listing Particulars and Circular.


Enquiries



Bristol Water Holdings plc                         Tel: 0117 953 6407

Alan Parsons, Chief Executive

Andy Nield, Group Finance Director



Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein                        Tel: 020 7623 8000

Ishbel Macpherson, Managing Director



Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Limited, which is authorised by the Financial
Services Authority, is acting for Bristol Water and no one else in connection
with the Scheme and is not acting for any person other than Bristol Water and
will not be responsible to any person other than Bristol Water for providing the
protections afforded to its customers or for providing advice in connection with
the Scheme and the other matters described herein.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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