Water company Severn Trent is looking to raise £250 million to help fund a string of projects to support the UK's green recovery.

Earlier this week, BusinessLive reported that the Coventry-headquartered business pledged to created 2,500 new jobs in the Midlands as part of a £565 million investment.

The business plans to use the money to fund green projects - which have been endorsed by regulator Ofwat - including installing 150,000 smart meters and removing old lead pipes at 26,000 homes.

Now Severn Trent has revealed its intention to raise £250 million through a share placing to help part-fund the Green Recovery projects.

The announcement comes as the company reported a decline in turnover and profit for the 12 months to March 31, 2021.

Its latest financial results show that turnover fell by 0.9 per cent to £1.82 billion in 2021 - from £1.84 billion the previous year.

At the same time, profit slipped by more than 17 per cent from £568 million from £471 million.

Bosses at the company - which serves millions of customers across the Midlands - say the results were largely driven by Covid-19 and lower consumption from commercial customers.

But this was slightly offset by the fact that people were told to stay at home - and were using more water to wash their hands regularly.

Severn Trent chief executive Liv Garfield said: "The last year has thrown up multiple challenges for us but it's clear everyone at Severn Trent has responded superbly to the new normal we find ourselves in.

"Our industry-leading customer ODI performance shows just how much we've been able to improve our services, often while working in very difficult circumstances.

"At the same time, we've increased the support we give to our customers and the communities we serve, from schemes for the most vulnerable to the extra funding we've made available to help charities and not-for-profits get through the pandemic."

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Ms Garfield added: "We took a very early decision to be at the forefront of efforts to help our region bounce back.

"That is why it was such good news that we'd been successful with our Green Economic Recovery proposal, meaning we can invest even more in sustainable projects and help create thousands of jobs.

"Add in our ambitious Kickstart programme, the launch of the Great Big Nature Boost, and our sustainability support for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and it's clear, both operationally and environmentally, that it's been a strong year for Severn Trent."