Iberdrola SA has presented its strategic roadmap for 2025-2028, outlining a €58 billion gross investment plan that represents a 30% increase compared to the 2021-2024 period. The Spanish utility company unveiled the strategy during its Capital Markets Day in London, emphasizing a shift toward regulated network businesses and long-term contracts to enhance business stability and provide greater visibility to investors. The plan focuses heavily on markets with stable regulatory frameworks, with 85% of investments directed toward countries with 'A' credit ratings.

The investment allocation shows a clear geographic concentration, with the United Kingdom emerging as the primary destination with €20 billion, followed by the United States with €16 billion. The Iberian Peninsula will receive €9 billion, Brazil €7 billion, and other EU countries plus Australia €5 billion. This distribution strategy aims to balance growth opportunities with regulatory maturity, targeting markets where the company has identified specific projects and established operational presence.

Financially, Iberdrola projects reaching €18 billion in EBITDA by 2028, representing a €3 billion increase from 2024 levels. The company also targets an adjusted net profit of €7.6 billion for 2028, up from the record €5.53 billion achieved in 2024. A key aspect of the strategy involves reducing exposure to spot electricity prices, with the goal that 75% of EBITDA will be decoupled from energy price volatility by 2028. Regulated networks are expected to contribute 55% of operating results under the new plan.

Shareholders will benefit from the company's commitment to distribute approximately €20 billion in dividends over the four-year period. Iberdrola has established a dividend floor of €0.64 per share and will maintain a payout ratio between 65% and 75% of profits. The company's flexible remuneration program also includes share buybacks. Partners will contribute €8 billion to the investment plan, bringing Iberdrola's net investment to €50 billion, with €37 billion specifically allocated to expanding regulated network assets to reach €70 billion.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced an urgent independent inquiry into maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, describing himself as "shocked" by families' experiences of "repeated maternity failures in Leeds - made worse by the unacceptable response of the trust." The decision comes after years of campaigning by bereaved families who reported feeling "gaslit, dismissed and even blamed" for what went wrong at one of Europe's largest teaching hospitals. Mr. Streeting emphasized the "stark contradiction between scale and safety standards" at the trust, which official data shows "remains an outlier on perinatal mortality."

The inquiry follows a June downgrade by the Care Quality Commission, which rated maternity services at the trust as "inadequate" and identified serious risks to women and babies. Inspectors highlighted a deep-rooted "blame culture" that made staff reluctant to raise concerns about incidents. Brendan Brown, chief executive of LTH NHS Trust, apologized to bereaved families and expressed hope that the inquiry would provide them with "answers." He stated the trust is "determined to do better" and is already taking significant steps to improve maternity and neonatal services following reviews by regulatory bodies.

Families affected by the failures have welcomed the inquiry but are calling for rigorous leadership, specifically requesting that midwife Donna Ockenden chair the investigation. Fiona Winser-Ramm, whose daughter Aliona died in 2020 after an inquest found multiple failures, emphasized the importance of ensuring the inquiry is "the best and most thorough that it can possibly be." She described how families have been "thrust into this life that none of us should be living," noting that their shared grief should never have brought them together under such circumstances.

Serious questions are now being raised about what Sir Julian Hartley, who led the trust for ten years until 2023 and now heads the Care Quality Commission, knew about the poor maternity care. In a statement, Sir Julian expressed being "truly sorry" for families' suffering and said that while he was "absolutely committed to ensuring good patient care across all services, including maternity," this commitment "wasn't enough to prevent some families suffering pain and loss." Lauren Caulfield, whose daughter Grace died in 2022, called it "completely unacceptable that nothing has been done to date" to examine Sir Julian's role, expressing hope that the inquiry will address this gap.