Boss of South East Water quits after winter outages

(Sharecast News) - The chief executive of South East Water has quit following a spate of outages last winter, a week after the utility's chair also stepped down. The crisis-hit water company announced on Friday that David Hinton had resigned and would leave following a transition period over the summer.

Hinton had previously told MPs he was best-placed to turn the business around. However, the utility said he had since decided to step down "as he feels his position has become an increasing distraction from South East Water's most important priority, which is to deliver a resilient water supply for its customers".

Tens of thousands of South East Water customers in parts of Kent and Sussex were left without running water at various points in November, December and into 2026. Both the company and Hinton came in for considerable criticism for the way the crisis was managed, including confusing messaging and a water station set up in the wrong town.

Hinton also declined to speak to the media during the outages and hit out at local Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin, asking him how he could sleep at night having "politicised" the issue.

The utility was fined £22m by the regulator Ofwat in March and added to its list of financially at risk firms.

Hinton's resignation comes just over a week since chair Chris Train resigned. At the time, South East Water said the board and Train had concluded new leadership was required as part of the company's recovery and transformation plan.

Interim chair Lisa Clement said on Friday. "The board acknowledges and thanks Dave for his many years of loyal dedication and service to South East Water." Hinton, who had been chief executive since 2020 and a board member since 2013, did not comment.

Martin said Hinton had "finally done the right thing". He continued: "South East Water urgently needs fresh leadership and fresh ideas to undo an entrenched internal culture of group think."