This book is addressed to water stakeholders, primarily Water Economic Regulators (WERs) and investors. It examines the performance of a selected panel of privately owned utilities in the European water sector with the primary aim of assessing the industry's appeal to private investors. This includes analyzing trends in rates of return, and identifying key drivers such as profitability, rates of return, and financial leverage. Additionally, the report delineates the risk profiles of the selected countries. The observed measures also help identify the impact of certain institutional variables, including country characteristics and water governance structures, by clustering countries based on the presence of an independent national regulator. Furthermore, the scope of operation is examined, differentiating between companies that offer only water services and those that operate under an integrated business model encompassing both water and wastewater management.
The selected panel comprises 32 entities operating in 10 countries, serving approximately 50.5 million inhabitants, which represents around 10% of the combined population of Europe, England, and Wales. Given that a significant portion of the European population is served by municipalities or state-owned companies, this rate can be considered fairly representative.

Andrea Guerrini is a Professor in the Department of Management at the University of Verona.
He has extensive experience in the field of management and the regulation of local public
services, with a particular focus on the water, energy, and waste sectors. He is former Member of the
Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment (ARERA) and President
of the Association of European Water Regulators (WAREG), as well as a Member of the Bureau
of the OECD Network of Economic Regulators (NER) from 2018 to 2025.
He has been President of a water utility, and has also
worked as a consultant for public bodies and companies in the areas of tariff regulation and
performance management. He is the author of numerous publications in leading international
scientific journals, for some of which he has also served as Editor (including "Water Resources
Management", "Journal of Cleaner Production", "Water Policy"). He
has participated in several research projects funded by the European Union (Life and H2020)
and other institutions.