Market intel · Unadopted fold-in
Housebuilders — bonds and adoption desk
Sourced public data only (company results, FOI, List of Streets, NHBC). Figures are never invented. Compiled panels sit above The Treatment’s analytical pass.
Top 5 business-opportunity findings
Where a consultancy helping councils finish unadopted estates can focus first.
- Four-year average s.38 waits (up to 12) — HBF FOI shows structural backlog, not one-off snags. Opportunity: paid adoption programme management and snagging coordination for highway authorities. HBF source
- Highway bonds averaging ~£338k (up ~170% since 2018) — capital and surety tied up until adoption. Opportunity: bond-release workstreams and LA capacity support that unlock developer and surety capital. HBF source
- Suffolk alone lists 331 sites >3 years unadopted, naming Persimmon, Bloor, Bellway, Taylor Wimpey, Crest, Barratt/BDW, Vistry. Opportunity: builder-accounted pipelines and multi-site negotiation packs for one county. Suffolk FOI
- Barratt discloses £626.8m performance bonds/guarantees vs peers often unquantified. Opportunity: target majors with published surety exposure for structured adoption clear-down. Barratt AR
- Essex S36 lists tag 3,373 Private Road/Street rows across 12 district PDFs (plus a live DM s.38/s.278 portal and Newhall multi-builder adoption backlog). Opportunity: county-scale List-of-Streets triage and estate adoption programme support where builders are already named in public updates. Essex List of Streets
Operating profit (£m)
Latest public FY / trading updates · click bar for source
Disclosed performance bonds (£m)
Broader than NHBC-only · panel 2 · click for source
Time to adoption / bond scale
HBF FOI · NHBC Road & Sewer T&Cs · panel 3
Adoption rates (HBF FOI)
Oct 2025 · roads / s.104 / SuDS · same figures as ticker
England Project Adoption Desk
Choose an English highway authority below or on the map. Pack-ready authorities open a compiled FOI / List-of-Streets panel; others show verified public entry points only — figures are never invented.
Select an authority above to open its pack or public-sources panel.
Authority
Best public lists
| List | Count | Source |
|---|
Named sites / roads
| Location | Builder | Source |
|---|
NHBC / bond capacity vs completions
| Builder | Homes | Bonds £m | £/home | Src |
|---|
Time to adoption
| Authority | Metric | Src |
|---|
Operating profit ranking
Latest public FY / trading-update operating profit. Click bar or figure for source.
| # | Company | Profit | Period | Src |
|---|
Financial stress vs bond / adoption risk
| Builder | OP | Net debt/cash | Bonds | Flags |
|---|
Council pipeline
| Authority | Value | Builders | Src |
|---|
Market intel notes
- Bond £m usually = broader performance bonds/guarantees, not NHBC-only.
- Council metrics are not standardised — directional only. Never invent unadopted counts for pack-pending authorities.
- Authority footprints (where shown): ONS Counties and Unitary Authorities (December 2025) BSC · Open Government Licence / OS.
- Council brand logos omitted where no clear open licence was available — see logo citations.
- Sources: profit · NHBC · panels · authorities
Lead · Local Government
Four years to adopt a road, and a bond 170% larger than in 2018
The HBF's 'Slow Lane to Adoption' puts the average s38 journey at just over four years, with the average highway bond now £338,000. Days later, Gleeson became the first listed builder to book a provision — £7.1m — to rectify estates so councils will adopt them; and the Department for Transport confirmed it has independent research on s38 in hand.
Analysis
What the evidence says
Adoption, not construction, is the bottleneck
Roads were adopted on 10% of recent sites, sewers on 3% of applications and SuDS on 2%. The average s38 now takes just over four years, and a third of councils adopted no roads at all. Gleeson's £7.1m provision is the first time that cost has surfaced in a listed builder's accounts; DfT told Parliament in June that it holds no central data on the problem.
Policy is moving on two tracks, neither with a date
The CMA asked for mandatory adoption and common standards in February 2024. Ministers consulted in December 2025 and say a response will come 'in due course'. Separately, DfT is weighing its own research on s38, and the Law Commission has been asked to look at managed estates. The leasehold bill expected this autumn deals with rentcharge enforcement, not adoption.
Water is the swing factor
Where sewers stay unadopted, roads wait — Devon, Northumberland and Keynsham all say so. The sector scored 19 EPA stars in 2024, its lowest since 2011; Thames Water's future is undecided; and HBF counts about 30,000 homes blocked by wastewater capacity. The Clean Water Bill and the review of the right to connect will reset the rules developers build to.
Decision tracker
What is pending, who decides, and the best evidence on timing
| Decision | Who | Timing | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government response to the private-estates consultations (mandatory adoption, common adoptable standards) | MHCLG | Pending 'In due course' — feedback being analysed (PQ 8492, 22 Jun 2026) | The decision on whether councils and water companies must adopt roads, sewers, SuDS and open space — the CMA's recommendations 1.1 and 1.2. |
| DfT independent research into road adoption and s38 agreements | Department for Transport | Pending Findings 'being considered' (PQ 29183, 15 Sep 2026); publication date not given | The first official evidence base on s38 timescales, bonds and fees since the HBF's FOI studies. |
| Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill introduced | MHCLG / Parliament | Pending Autumn 2026 expected (trade press); in the King's Speech, 13 May 2026 | Repeals estate rentcharge enforcement powers (Law of Property Act 1925 ss121–122); about 260 clauses. |
| Law Commission project on privately managed estates | Law Commission | Pending Announced 29 Apr 2026; no timetable found | Could give homeowners on managed estates control over their management — the alternative to adoption. |
| Clean Water Bill and the single water regulator | Defra / Parliament | Pending Introduction 'later in 2026' (Water Magazine, 14 May 2026); transition plan expected 2026 | Replaces Ofwat; the white paper also put the s106 right to connect under review. |
| Thames Water: recapitalisation or special administration | Government and Ofwat | Pending Undecided; EFRA Committee urged rejection of the creditor plan on 18 Sep 2026 | Sets the investment capacity of the largest sewerage undertaker — and s104 throughput in London and the Thames Valley. |
| Housing supply indicators, April–June 2026 | MHCLG | Dated 24 Sep 2026, 9:30am (provisional) | Whether the rise in starts (+18% year on year to March) is holding up. |
| Ofwat final decision on mid-cycle cost changes (£3.4bn draft) | Ofwat | Dated December 2026; consultation closed 24 Sep 2026 | Funds extra wastewater investment in AMP8, including capacity that developers depend on. |
| Schedule 3 SuDS decision for England | Defra | Pending 'In due course'; consultation on standardised SuDS with a 2029 target (Environmental Improvement Plan) | Who approves and adopts SuDS — the least-adopted asset of all (2%). |
| D-MeX 2025-26 results (first PR24 year) | Ofwat | Watch Not announced; the 2024-25 results came in November 2025 | The developer-services league table for all 17 companies. |
| Environmental performance assessment for 2025 | Environment Agency | Watch Not announced; the 2024 assessment was published on 23 Oct 2025 | Star ratings after the sector's worst year since 2011. |
Regional picture
Sewerage performance, penalties and s38 fees by region
Environment Agency star ratings and Ofwat penalties for each region's main sewerage company, and an example of the s38 inspection fee a council in the region publishes. Click a region for detail.
London
- EPA 2024 (principal company)
- ★ (1/4)
- Sewerage undertaker
- Thames Water
- Published s38 fee
- none found
Thames Water: £122.7m fine (May 2025)
Vitals
Industry health, from published sources only
Latest from each desk
The diary
- Thames Water creditor vote on 16th consent requests (£2.4bn facility upsize)
- Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill introduction expected (autumn; date tbc)
- Clean Water Bill introduction and water Transition Plan expected (later 2026; tbc)
- Ofwat final decision on cost change process (December)
How adoption works
Who adopts what, and where each route stands
| Asset | Route | Who decides | Statutory basis | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New estate roads | s38 agreement with a bond, or the Advance Payments Code where no agreement exists | Local highway authority (153 in England) | Highways Act 1980 s38; ss219–225 (APC) | Average just over four years from submission to adoption; average bond £338k; inspection fees 3–20% of bond (HBF, 2026). No statutory timescale. |
| Works to an existing highway | s278 agreement | Local highway authority | Highways Act 1980 s278 | HBF: approval takes up to a year, then up to two years to complete (2026). |
| New sewers and pumping stations | s104 agreement under the Sewerage Sector Guidance and Ofwat's adoption code | The sewerage undertaker for the area | Water Industry Act 1991 s104; Ofwat Code for Adoption Agreements (2020) | 3% of ~2,300 applications adopted within three years at the six largest companies (HBF FOI, Oct 2025). |
| Connection to the public sewer | Right to connect (notice to the undertaker) | Developer; the undertaker cannot refuse on capacity grounds | Water Industry Act 1991 s106 | Under review: the Cunliffe report (Jul 2025) and the water white paper (Jan 2026) both question the right in its current form. |
| Sustainable drainage (SuDS) | Planning condition; adoption by agreement with the undertaker, the council or a management company | No approving body in England; Schedule 3 not commenced (in force in Wales since 2019) | Flood and Water Management Act 2010 Sch 3; NPPF; national SuDS standards (2025, non-statutory) | 2% of applications adopted (HBF FOI, Oct 2025); standardised SuDS requirement targeted for 2029. |
| Open space and shared amenities | Estate management company funded by estate charges or rentcharges | Private management; about 1.75m homes on managed estates (MHCLG) | Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 Part 5 (mostly not in force); Law of Property Act 1925 ss121–122 | Mandatory adoption and common adoptable standards consulted on Dec 2025–Mar 2026; response awaited. |
Tab 1 · Central Government Policy
Policy tracker: the road to mandatory adoption
Every milestone links to its source. Diamonds and dashed bars are expected, not confirmed; red marks a promise that was missed.
CMA Housebuilding Market Study · 26 Feb 2024
What happened to the CMA's adoption recommendations
| Rec. | Recommendation | Government response (22 Oct 2024) | Status now |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Common adoptable standards for public amenities | Further work required (Oct 2024) | Pending Consulted Dec 2025 – Mar 2026; response awaited |
| 1.2 | Mandatory adoption of public amenities | Further work required (Oct 2024) | Pending Consulted Dec 2025 – Mar 2026; response awaited |
| 1.3 | Enhanced consumer protection on estates | Accepted in principle via LFRA 2024 Part 5 | Pending Most provisions not yet in force |
| 2.2 | Activate the New Homes Ombudsman | Accepted; secondary legislation 'in due course' | Stalled No commencement found |
Legislation watch
Acts and bills that move the adoption market
Flood and Water Management Act 2010, Schedule 3
Not commenced in England; in force in Wales since 7 Jan 2019. Government prefers a planning-policy route; standardised SuDS targeted for 2029.
Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, Part 5
Royal Assent 24 May 2024. Estate-charge rights (tribunal challenge, substitute manager) mostly await secondary legislation.
Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill
Draft Jan 2026; scrutiny report May 2026; in King's Speech. Repeals estate rentcharge enforcement powers. Introduction expected autumn 2026.
Clean Water Bill
Announced 13 May 2026: single regulator replacing Ofwat and DWI functions, Water Ombudsman, bonus ban. Not yet introduced.
Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025
Royal Assent 18 Dec 2025. No direct s38/s104 measures; government rejected making water companies statutory consultees.
Water (Special Measures) Act 2025
Royal Assent 24 Feb 2025: bonus bans, executive liability, real-time overflow monitoring.
Housing Estates Bill (ten-minute rule)
First reading 4 Mar 2025 (Alistair Strathern). No second reading; presumed fallen at session end.
Housing supply · England
The 1.5m homes arithmetic
- Net additions 2024-25
- 208,600 (−6%)
- …of which new-build completions
- 190,600
- Starts, year to Mar 2026
- 130,170 (+15%)
- Completions, year to Mar 2026
- 143,110 (−6%)
- Delivered toward 1.5m (to Jun 2026, est.)
- ~392,400 (~26%)
- Planning permissions, 12 months to Q1 2026
- 216,141 homes
What the consultation asked
MHCLG: reducing private estate management
- Mandatory adoption of highways, sewers and pumping stations, SuDS and open space — with possible exceptions for premium features.
- Common adoptable standards (Q12) and which body should adopt each asset type (Q22).
- Commuted sums and performance bonds where there is no adoption (Q29); nationally set inspection fees (Q30).
- No proposal for statutory s38 or s104 timelines; cites DfT research on 'barriers to adoption'.
Tab 2 · Local Government
The s38 picture, from the only national data there is
No council publishes average adoption times or backlogs, and DfT told Parliament in June 2026 that it holds no central data either. The national figures below come from HBF Freedom of Information research and the Commons Library.
Council s38 terms
What councils publish on fees and online portals
Taken from each council's own pages. Click a heading to sort.
| Council ▲ | Region | s38 fee (published) | Digital portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham City Council | West Midlands | Not published — bond 'calculated by the Highway Authority' | No — general enquiry form |
| Cornwall Council | South West | 8.75% (min £2,800) + £2,800 application fee, from 1 Apr 2026 | Not found |
| Derbyshire County Council | East Midlands | 8.5%, +4.5% after 2 yrs, +4.5% after 4; bond called in after 6 yrs | — |
| Devon County Council | South West | 6% s38 inspection fee (reported Mar 2026) | — |
| Essex County Council | East of England | Not found | Yes — searchable legal-agreement portal (s38/s278/s220; not for applications) |
| Hampshire County Council | South East | Not published on the adoption page | Not found |
| Kent County Council | South East | 10% of bond (min £1,000), 2025–26 and 2026–27 | Not found |
| Lancashire County Council | North West | 7% of estimated works (min £2,900 in 2026/27); +2% then +5% on extensions | Not found |
| Leeds City Council | Yorkshire | 8.5% if works not started; 12.5–15% if started; £5,000 deposit; £2,529 legal fee | None mentioned |
| Norfolk County Council | East of England | 10% of bond + £6,450 vetting fee, from 1 Apr 2026 | — |
| Suffolk County Council | East of England | 7.5% of bond + £5,000; targets 10/20 working days, ~6 weeks overall | Yes — application portal |
| Surrey County Council | South East | 'Administration costs' and commuted sums; % not stated | Not found |
| Torbay Council | South West | Tiered: £1,500 / 10% / 8% / 6% (decision Sep 2020) | — |
| Worcestershire County Council | West Midlands | 10% below £125k, 8% above; £2,000 up front; bond at 110% | — |
Inspection fees
What councils charge to check s38 works
Fee arithmetic
What those rates mean on an average bond
Ombudsman · highway adoption
Recent LGSCO decisions
- Complaint about a highway adoption matter not investigated because it was made late.
- Complainant sought enforcement of the s38 bond after developer insolvency; the Ombudsman declined to use discretion to investigate.
- Council refuses to adopt the road; the Ombudsman says the courts are the better route.
- Investigation discontinued; the council's factsheet was described as potentially misleading.
- Council told to apologise, set aside £5,300, review procedures and notify affected properties.
Pattern: most adoption complaints are closed at assessment — the Ombudsman treats adoption as council discretion and points to the courts. The one upheld case (Somerset, 2024) turned on a failure to secure an Advance Payments Code bond.
Parliament on adoption
What ministers have told MPs
- Answering Matt Vickers MP (UIN 29183), the Department says it is considering the findings alongside cross-government work on unadopted roads, private estate management and the operation of s38 bonds and other securities.
- Statement HCWS270 covers consultations on enfranchisement valuation and process costs and a £250 ground-rent cap. It does not address the Act's Part 5 estate-management provisions.
- Answering Jon Trickett MP (UIN 8492), the department confirms both consultations closed on 12 March 2026 and says it is analysing the feedback received.
- Answering David Reed MP (UINs 3672 and 3670), the Department says it holds no figures on roads held up by sewer adoption, nor on s38 bonds that proved insufficient after a developer's insolvency.
Tab 3 · Regulatory Change
Water company heatmap: what the regulators say
Environment Agency star ratings (with the four-year trend), developer-services satisfaction (D-MeX) and recent Ofwat penalties. Darker = worse. Company-level s104 turnaround times are reported through Water UK's developer services dashboard.
| Company | EPA 2024 | D-MeX 24-25 | Latest penalty | Enforcement detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thames WaterLondon & Thames Valley | ★2021–24: 2·2·2·1 | — | £122.7m | £122.7m fine (May 2025) |
| Southern WaterSouth East | ★★2021–24: 1·2·2·2 | — | — | 2019 commitments completed (Feb 2026); £123m rebates in 2019 case |
| Anglian WaterEast of England | ★★2021–24: 2·2·2·2 | — | £62.8m | £62.8m package (Sep 2025) |
| Dŵr Cymru Welsh WaterWales | n/aEngland only | — | £44.7m | £44.7m package (Jun 2026) |
| Yorkshire WaterYorkshire | ★★2021–24: 2·3·2·2 | — | £40m | £40m package (Mar 2025) |
| South West WaterSouth West | ★★2021–24: 1·2·2·2 | — | £24m | £24m package (Sep 2025) |
| Northumbrian WaterNorth East | ★★2021–24: 4·3·3·2 | 84.04#3 of 17 | £17m | £17m proposed (Aug 2024); final form unconfirmed |
| Wessex WaterSouth West | ★★2021–24: 2·2·4·2 | — | £11m | £11m package (Dec 2025) |
| Severn TrentMidlands | ★★★★2021–24: 4·4·4·4 | 84.36#2 of 17 | £0 | Breach found; undertakings, no fine (Jul 2026) |
| United UtilitiesNorth West | ★★2021–24: 4·3·4·2 | — | — | No outcome found |
| Hafren DyfrdwyNorth-east & mid Wales | n/aEngland only | — | — | None found 2024–26 |
Environmental performance
Sector EPA stars, 2011–2024
Enforcement
Ofwat fines and packages since 2024
Thames Water: no decision yet
Creditor group London & Valley Water proposes £3.35bn of equity and up to £6.55bn of debt to fund £20.4bn of AMP8 spending, now with a government 'golden share'. On 18 Sep 2026 the EFRA Committee urged ministers to reject it for special administration or new legislation. For developers in the Thames area, expect s104 capacity to stay constrained while this is unresolved.
Regulator reform
From Ofwat to a single regulator
- Jul 2025 — Cunliffe: abolish Ofwat; mandatory SuDS; review the s106 right to connect.
- Jan 2026 — White paper: one regulator merging Ofwat, DWI and EA/Natural England water functions.
- May 2026 — Clean Water Bill announced; not yet introduced. New regulator's name unconfirmed.
- Developer angle — s106 connection rights 'may become diluted' (Michelmores); water companies not made statutory consultees.
PR24 · CMA redeterminations, 10 Mar 2026
AMP8 settlements for the five appellants
| Company | Allowed revenue | vs Ofwat | Avg bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anglian | £9,797m | +£150m | £602 |
| Northumbrian | £5,190m | −£9m | £488 |
| South East | £1,740m | +£62m | £284 |
| Southern | £6,646m | +£155m | £641 |
| Wessex | £3,734m | +£106m | £614 |
Water UK · Sewerage Sector Guidance
The s104 rulebook, current versions
| Document | Version | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sewerage Sector Guidance — main document | v2b | Feb 2025 |
| Appendix B — Procedures | v1 | Apr 2023 |
| Appendix C — Design and Construction Guidance (DCG) | v2.3 | Nov 2023 |
| Appendix D — Minimum Information | v1 | Apr 2023 |
| Appendix E — Model Adoption Agreement | v1 | Apr 2023 |
| Appendix F — Levels of Service | v1 | Apr 2023 |
| Appendix G — Terms of Reference | Ofwat-approved | Sep 2025 |
Developer charges 2026-27
United Utilities: sewerage infrastructure charge £533.13 (+20.6%); water £462.51 (+17.5%). HBF says developer wastewater charges rose 52% after March 2025.
Storm overflows 2025
291,492 spills, down 35%; duration down 48%; 20.5 spills per overflow (31.8 in 2024). The EA credits dry weather in part.
Enforcement tally
Ofwat's wastewater investigation has produced more than £300m in fines and packages across eight cases (Jul 2026). Thames must pay 80% of its £122.7m fine by 31 Mar 2030.
Tab 4 · Technology Updates
Tech radar: what can shorten Stages 1–4
Readiness is judged from UK deployment evidence, not vendor claims. The centre is in routine use; the outer ring is research. Numbers match the list.
- 725k CCTV images, 7 water companies; Ofwat-funded. Complements MSCC rather than replacing it.
- Commercial automated defect coding with iPEK/Envirosight. UK deployments unconfirmed.
- United Utilities reviews 500+ km of CCTV a year on a path to business as usual.
- Thames-led with Welsh Water, Wessex and Sheffield; £1.6m. Prototype to live trials.
- Peer-reviewed research (Sci Rep, Nov 2025): 90% classification accuracy.
- £53m; 16,500 of 92,000 sensors installed; AI blockage prediction.
- £8m contract, May 2026 – Nov 2029 (treatment works).
- Ofwat-funded open-source work, completed Sep 2024.
- £32m AI framework — headline only.
- Whole Northern Ireland road network surveyed with a digital twin.
- BIM and digital twins; Rapid Engineering Model cuts preliminary design to ~8 weeks.
- Hertfordshire public-road trial; Innovate UK funded.
- Severn Trent 'apply online'; UU and Yorkshire publish 2026–27 s104 guides. No sector-wide portal.
- Suffolk application portal; Essex searchable agreement store. Rare elsewhere in our sample.
- SOAP web service for meeting metadata; minutes still need PDF scraping.
Why it matters for adoption
The s104 bottleneck is inspection and defect sign-off. The WRc/United Utilities open image library means AI coding can be benchmarked against a shared standard alongside MSCC5 — worth asking an undertaker whether it will accept AI-coded CCTV at Stage 3/4.
Funding to watch
Ofwat's Innovation Fund was doubled to £400m and extended to 2030 (NCE, Jan 2025 — headline only). Water Breakthrough Challenge 5 awarded £42m to 16 projects (May 2025).
Tab 5 · Industry / Contract News
First listed provision for adoption failure: MJ Gleeson, £7.1m
"During the year Gleeson Homes identified issues on previously completed legacy developments, which require rectification in order to achieve adoption of the roads and other statutory services by the relevant local authorities." Spend over three to four years. Expect auditors to ask other builders the same question.
Client watch
Housebuilders: latest numbers and signals
Completions and updates are from company releases. 'Signal' is an editorial reading of guidance, not an automated sentiment score: 5 of the 11 builders tracked are currently negative. Year-on-year change is shown where the prior year is on the same basis.
| Builder | Completions | Year on year | Latest update | Signal | Adoption / infrastructure mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barratt RedrowBTRW · FY Jun 2026 | 17,667prev. 16,826 | +5.0% | FY27 guidance trimmed to 17,500–17,900 on planning delays16 Sep 2026 | Watch | Planning delays cited; no adoption or bond disclosure found |
| Vistry GroupVTY · FY Dec 2025 | 15,658prev. 17,225 | -9.1% | H1 loss of ~£30m expected; H1 results 24 Sep8 Jul 2026 | Negative | None found in releases |
| PersimmonPSN · FY Dec 2025 | 11,905 | — | H1 completions +13%; FY26 ~12,500 at top of range6 Aug 2026 | Positive | None found in releases |
| Taylor WimpeyTW. · FY Dec 2025 | 10,614 | — | Lower half of 10,600–10,800 guidance; op. profit −19%30 Jul 2026 | Negative | 'Wastewater capacity issues' flagged as emerging risk (FY25) |
| BellwayBWY · FY Jul 2026 (trading update) | 9,695prev. 8,749 | +10.8% | Beat build target; demand softening; results Oct 202611 Aug 2026 | Positive | None found |
| Berkeley GroupBKG · FY Apr 2026 | 4,203 | — | London schemes now take 8+ years24 Jun 2026 | Watch | Building Safety Regulator delays, not adoption |
| Bloor Homesprivate · FY Jun 2025 | 3,643prev. 4,004 | -9.0% | PBT −14% to £179.1m; cost and overhead review7 Jan 2026 | Watch | None found |
| Keepmoatprivate · FY Oct 2025 | 3,124 | — | Profit −14%; 60-site land-buying spree26 May 2026 | Watch | None found |
| MJ GleesonGLE · FY Jun 2026 | 1,968prev. 1,793 | +9.8% | £7.1m adoption-rectification provision; statutory loss £2.7m15 Sep 2026 | Negative | £7.1m exceptional provision to rectify legacy estates for road and services adoption |
| Crest NicholsonCRST · FY Oct 2025 | 1,691 | — | Completions guidance cut to 1,350–1,400; underlying loss of ~£10m expected3 Sep 2026 | Negative | None found |
| Cala Groupprivate · FY 2025 | — | — | Pre-tax loss after £25.7m exceptionals incl. ~£20m fire safety (headline)— | Negative | None found |
Completions
Latest annual completions
Profit warnings & guidance cuts
Who is under pressure
Public tenders
Drainage, SuDS and survey contracts
| Buyer | Contract | Published | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Water | Sustainable Drainage and Habitat Restoration Framework | 30 Jan 2026 | £1.3bn |
| Bury MBC | Highways Works Framework — Lot 7 drainage CCTV, jetting, condition | 30 Jan 2026 | £140m |
| Severn Trent | Waste Digital Twin — Modelling Delivery | 5 Feb 2026 | £8m |
| Wigan Council | Structural Inspection — CCTV Survey Contract 2026 | 13 May 2026 | Not stated |
| Bristol City Council | Gully Cleansing and Drainage Investigation, Survey, Maintenance and Repair (award) | 23 Jul 2025 | Not stated |
Counterparty brief
Everything on this page about one authority, in one place
Pick the council or water company you are meeting. The brief pulls together the verified facts, the wire items that mention them, and questions worth raising. Copy it into your notes.
Thames Water
- Region
- London & Thames Valley (London, South East)
- EPA stars 2024
- ★ (1/4); 2021–24: 2·2·2·1
- D-MeX 2024-25
- not among the three published leaders; full table on Ofwat's site
- Ofwat enforcement
- £122.7m fine (May 2025)
- PR24 position
- Accepted Ofwat's final determination (Dec 2024)
- s104 rulebook
- Sewerage Sector Guidance v2b (Feb 2025); DCG v2.3 (Nov 2023); Ofwat adoption code since Apr 2020
Nationally, 3% of s104 applications were adopted within three years at the six largest companies (HBF FOI, Oct 2025); about 30,000 homes are blocked by wastewater capacity (HBF, Sep 2025).
Questions to raise
- Which Sewerage Sector Guidance versions apply to this scheme — main document v2b (Feb 2025) and DCG v2.3 (Nov 2023)?
- What are your current Developer Services Level of Service figures for s104 technical vetting and agreement issue, and how do they compare with the Water UK dashboard?
- Will you accept AI-coded CCTV surveys benchmarked to the WRc/United Utilities image library at Stage 3 and Stage 4?
- How is your enforcement package or Environment Agency rating changing capital maintenance priorities on the receiving network?
- What is your position on the s106 right to connect while the Clean Water Bill and the single regulator are pending?
- What infrastructure charges apply from April 2026, and what drove the change?
On the wire
- EFRA Committee wants the London & Valley Water recapitalisation rejected in favour of special administration or new legislation. No decision yet.
- London & Valley Water adds a 10-year dividend halt to its £3.35bn equity plan.
- Serious pollution incidents up to 75. Only Severn Trent holds four stars.
- £104.5m for wastewater failures and £18.2m over dividends — the first dividend penalty.
Plain-text version
Sources & Method
How this page is put together
- Sourcing. Every figure and news item links to a published source, checked on 23 Sep 2026. Items marked 'Headline only' were seen but not read in full.
- Updates. New items are added only after they have been checked against their source.
- Caveats. HBF figures come from Freedom of Information research by an industry body, not official statistics. The 'Signal' ratings on housebuilders are an editorial reading of company guidance.
- Access control. This static host uses a client-side access phrase (sessionStorage / localStorage flag) as soft sharing control — not cryptographic security. Anyone with the phrase, or who reads the page source, can bypass it.
Sources monitored
Where the intelligence comes from
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Home Builders Federation — news and research | Adoption research (FOI studies), planning pipeline, water connections |
| Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman — highway adoption decisions | Complaints about councils' handling of road adoption and bonds |
| GOV.UK — MHCLG, Defra, DfT, CMA, Environment Agency | Policy, consultations, statistics and enforcement |
| UK Parliament — bills, Hansard, written questions and statements | Legislation stages, debates and ministerial answers |
| House of Commons Library | Briefings on unadopted roads, SuDS and estate management |
| Ofwat and the CMA (PR24) | Price controls, enforcement and developer-services measures |
| Water UK — Sewerage Sector Guidance | The s104 adoption rulebook and its current versions |
| Find a Tender | Public contracts for drainage, SuDS and highway works |
| Council websites and committee papers | Published s38 fees, portals and scrutiny reports |
| Housebuilder results announcements | Completions, guidance and any adoption or infrastructure disclosures |
| Trade press | Water Magazine, Construction Enquirer, Housing Today, New Civil Engineer, PBC Today and others |
Known data gaps
- D-MeX 2024-25 results for all 17 companies — only the top three are shown here.
- Company-level s104 turnaround times — reported through Water UK's developer services dashboard, not yet included.
- Housebuilders' performance-bond totals — not disclosed in the results announcements reviewed.
- Council-level s38 backlogs and average adoption times — not published; would need Freedom of Information requests.