Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) and Rothschild are days away from completing the £1.2bn (€2bn) sale of Wessex Water, the water company being sold off by Enron Europe.

SSSB is advising Azurix, the water division of Enron, and Rothschild is advising a consortium bidding for Wessex Water. The consortium, led by Royal Bank of Scotland and including Abbey National, is expected to sign the deal in the next 48 hours.