Schroder Salomon Smith Barney's involvement in the acquisition of UK company Welsh Water proves two things: that one-stop banking is proving consistently profitable for the firm and that a good transaction structure can be used over and over again.

Philip Fletcher, the UK's top water regulator, recently gave Glas Cymru the green light to purchase Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) from WPD in a wholly debt-financed acquisition. Unusually for a utility, Glas intends to outsource a whopping 80% of the water company's operations.