UK water company Severn Trent will this month appoint new corporate brokers amid suggestions it will soon attract a takeover offer.

Severn Trent's brokers, Credit Suisse and HSBC, have re-pitched with a handful of other investment banks. The company has drawn up a shortlist, thought to include Citigroup, JP Morgan Cazenove, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, and could reach a decision this week.