Good morning. I'm Susan Davy, CEO of Pennon Group, and I'm joined today by CFO Laura Flowerdew. As a group, our strategy is focused on UK water, delivering for customers and communities across the regions we serve. Ahead of starting the new regulatory delivery period this coming April, we have considered several aspects to set us up for success through to 2030. While the ambition is national, given our size, scale, and reach, the benefits will be local, whether you are a customer in Devon and Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly, Bristol, Bournemouth, or Sutton and East Surrey. A key pillar of our delivery plan to 2030 is a record GBP 3.2 billion of investment. This will be financed in part by the GBP 490 million rights issue we are announcing today.
We submitted to our regulators our most ambitious plans as we set to transform what we do for customers and communities right across the UK. In December, the regulator confirmed we had quality plans in place. Having carefully considered the final determinations from Ofwat, I can confirm today that we will accept the respective determinations for both our South West Water and Sutton and East Surrey Water businesses. We believe that the final determinations represent a challenging but fair outcome for all stakeholders. We have demonstrated our agility and ability to deliver in K7. In the weeks following receipt of the final determinations, and after carefully considering the determinations against our submitted plans, we are targeting outperformance to give us headroom and flexibility to deliver in K8.
To support delivery, the underpin will be our robust balance sheet, retaining our established sustainable gearing policy for the water businesses of 55%-65%. As such, to support the GBP 3.2 billion of record investment, we are also announcing that fully underwritten GBP 490 million rights issue, which will be used wholly to fund the investments in our water businesses and as part of a comprehensive financing package. Finally, in recognition of the ongoing support from shareholders, we are confirming a revised dividend policy of CPIH, maintaining the dividend from the 2023-24 financial year rebased on a dividend per share basis through to 2030. Coupled with a 34% organic RCV growth projection to 2030, we believe this represents an attractive combination of underlying asset growth and income.
We were always confident in the quality of our business plans, validated by Ofwat with their outstanding rating for South West Water for the third consecutive price review, coupled with a standard rating for Sutton and East Surrey Water. These quality assessments allowed for improved returns of 30 basis points for South West Water and five basis points for Sutton and East Surrey Water, subject to achieving certain conditions over the period to 2030. Compared with Ofwat's draft determinations in July 2024, there have been significant improvements, with the cost of capital allowance increasing by over 31 basis points to 4.03%. Building on our track record in South West Water of submitting high quality and well thought through plans, we have worked with Ofwat to demonstrate the robustness of our original plans. We have secured 100% of the revenue levels we originally requested across the water businesses, coupled with 97% of the Totex requirements.
We have also had recognized previously unfunded expenditure in K7, giving rise to a 20% RCV uplift. This puts us on a strong footing to deliver the step changes and outcomes rightly demanded by customers and regulators, with a more appropriate balance of incentives and protections than had been allowed for in the draft determination. It is a challenging plan, but Ofwat has provided financial risk protection for over 50% of Totex allowed, in addition to a cost sharing framework which we had in previous delivery periods. It is a stretching plan to deliver, but we have confidence in our delivery plans. Our record investment will benefit all stakeholders.
I have talked before about our four strategic priorities, whether it's the availability of clean, safe drinking water as we bolster water resources with a new reservoir due in the South West, tackling the use of storm overflows, or protecting the environment for future generations. We know customers want to see real change. It's also more than just about water. It's also about much-needed regional investment, the largest ever in the history of the South West, creating jobs in the supply chain and underpinning the much-needed infrastructure through the building of homes. At the same time, we will be supporting customers when they need it most, keeping necessary bill increases as low as possible and having innovative tariffs in place with a GBP 200 million affordability support package there.
While K8 does represent a step change with record levels of allowed investment, we are well positioned for this and confident that we have in place the underlying capabilities, resources, and capacity needed to deliver. To support our delivery, we have been working with our new supply chain delivery alliance, Amplify, to ensure we are prepared and we can have a fast start to the new regulatory period. We have accelerated GBP 75 million of K8 expenditure into 2024-2025 with approval from Ofwat to kickstart our plans to reduce bills from storm overflows, and we have over GBP 625 million already with the new supply chain ahead of year one. That step change in investment will drive growth in RCV. We are targeting the K7 regulatory delivery period with a run rate of investment that is comparable with the run rate required for K8.
The K8-based regulatory allowances of GBP 3.2 billion is part of our 15-year growth program to 2040. We continue our unprecedented growth with RCV over successive K periods. With our strategy of organic and acquisitive growth, we have seen RCV increase by 75% in K7, with a 34% increase projected for K8. Our front-loaded CapEx profile for K8 drives early wins operationally, with an opportunity to demonstrate performance improvements to our stakeholders. Against our commitments, circa 70% of our K7 ODIs are ahead or on track. We are industry leading or upper quartile in several measures, including internal sewer flooding and unplanned outages for South West Water, water quality and supply interruptions in Sutton and East Surrey Water, and customer service in Bristol.
We have focused on supporting customers, keeping bills as low as possible through a drive for efficiency and providing tangible support to those who need it most, achieving 100% affordability for the first time. As we enter the next regulatory period, Ofwat's 2023-24 reports indicate companies in the group are in a relatively robust position with respect to the common outcome delivery incentives. These are key measures that are retained for the new K8 period. Our return on regulated equity for the water businesses is relatively strong, with the returns over K7 ranging from between 6%-8% return on regulated equity. Customers have also benefited from this performance through our innovative first-of-its-kind WaterShare+ scheme, launched in 2020.
This gives customers a stake and a say in our business, as they have shared GBP 40 million of financial benefits, with plans for a third issuance as we target one in 10 householders becoming shareholders. We have a history of driving out performance through the incentive regime set by the regulator, whether that is through being efficient with our operating, capital, or financing cost base, or through driving performance in the outcome regime. Driving out performance will give us the headroom to potentially deliver more, as we've demonstrated in K7 through our accelerated capital investment over base allowances. Outperformance directly benefits customers through the Water share allocation or through further investment. We are targeting outperformance, building on our previous robust delivery. For K8, we're targeting to achieve better than base performance, consistent with a 7% RoRE.
We have confidence in our delivery, having received the green light from our regulator to deliver the plan we submitted. We are therefore targeting to drive efficient delivery, with our previously announced right sizing and right shaping already underway. Ensure we maintain a diversified debt portfolio that can lock in efficient financing rates. Focus on service outcomes with targets that are broadly comparable with our submitted business plan. A comprehensive financing package to underpin delivery in K8. Given we now have a clear line of sight through to 2030, we are in a position to confirm a comprehensive financing package to realize the water businesses' GBP 3.2 billion capital investment plan, alongside preserving a sustainable approach to gearing and supporting RCV growth of 34%.
Our water business will maintain gearing at 60%-65%, which is in line with both our established 55%-65% policy and consistent with a strong investment grade credit rating profile. Pennon Group leverage is expected to be a few percentage points higher. There are two key funding levers that we will use to achieve this. Firstly, GBP 86 million of targeted annual benefits from our reshaping and right sizing of the group and as we realize cost synergies. This will be alongside additional equity funding with a GBP 490 million rights issue, which will be used wholly to fund the record levels of investments in our water businesses. This package allows us to maintain the total dividend in absolute terms, with a dividend per share rebased due to the impact of the new shares from the rights issue, which will then grow in line with CPIH.
In summary, I am confirmed today that we'll be accepting the respective determinations for both our South West Water and Sutton and East Surrey Water businesses and not seeking a referral to the CMA. We believe that the final determinations represent a good outcome for all stakeholders, with a record £3.2 billion investment program given the green light. With the certainty this brings now, as we look ahead to 2030 and given our track record of delivery as we close down K7, we are focused on the opportunities to target performance in K8. For shareholders, this step change in investment will represent continued RCV growth of 34% over the K8 period, and we are targeting a prudent capital structure, ensuring our water business gearing remains between 55% and 65%, with expectations of gearing to be 60%-65% for the K8 period, consistent with a strong investment grade rating profile.
We are announcing today a fully underwritten GBP 490 million rights issue, which will be used wholly to fund the record levels of investments in our water businesses as part of a comprehensive financing package. And finally, in recognition of the ongoing support from shareholders, we are confirming a revised dividend policy of CPIH, maintaining the dividend from 2023-24 financial year and rebasing it on a dividend per share basis through to 2030. In summary, a good platform to deliver for all in K8. Thank you.
Thank you.