Shareholders have agreed to supply another £750 million of funding as the company struggles under a debt mountain
The company’s annual results revealed Thames Water was £14 billion in debt – up from £12.9 billion the previous year – and was on the brink of collapse.‘prepared for a range of scenarios’But in a desperate attempt to avoid nationalisation, the supplier says this initial funding agreement until the end of 2025 is a ‘major milestone – despite it being less than the £1 billion it expected.
The firm is the UK’s biggest water supplier to 15 million people, serving households across London, the Thames Valley and the South East. Thames Water chairperson Ian Marchant said the new deal is ‘the largest equity support package ever seen in the UK water sector’.Shareholders say the latest cash is dependent on ‘the preparation of a business plan that underpins a more focused turnaround that delivers targeted performance improvements for customers, the environment and other stakeholders over the next three years and is supported by appropriate regulatory arrangements’.