A consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland is set to make up to five times its money through a sale of UK utility Southern Water in a deal that would take the value of acquisitions in the country's water sector to more than £21bn (€31bn) in the last 18 months.

Shareholders including Royal Bank of Scotland and hedge funds DE Shaw and Perry Capital have appointed Deutsche Bank to run the sale of Southern Water, which is expected to raise up to £4bn, according to deal sources.