Thames Water rescue in doubt as UK government ‘raises objections’

Thames Water is reportedly on the brink of temporary nationalisation after the UK Environment secretary cast doubt on a £10 billion rescue deal for the troubled supplier.

Emma Reynolds is understood to have written to water regulator Ofwat on Monday warning the current bid tabled by Thames Water creditors would place an ‘undue burden’ on customers.

The UK government’s misgivings over the deal comes as Ofwat is said to have been close to accepting the offer from bidding consortium London & Valley Water, which has proposed injecting £10 billion into debt-laden Thames Water in return for any new fines over sewage leaks being waived for four years.

Thames Water – Britain’s biggest water supplier with 16 million customers – is hoping to secure the deal to stave off temporary nationalisation after being left close to collapse by nearly £20 billion of debt.

It has also faced a series of hefty fines for its poor environmental performance in recent years.

A rescue bid by creditors is seen as the final realistic option on the table to avoid being placed into the government’s so-called special administration regime after a previous rescue deal with US private equity titan KKR collapsed in May last year.

Administrators have already been lined up to step in if needed.

Reynolds’s criticism of the deal centres on concerns that customers will lose out under the creditors’ offer, according to The Times, which first reported the details of the letter.

It is thought she raised worries that the creditors’ proposal was ‘weak’.

But the government has repeatedly said it prefers a ‘market solution’ over temporary nationalisation.

Ofwat and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs have been approached for comment.

The letter from Reynolds comes in a difficult week for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with Andy Burnham – the mayor of Greater Manchester – hoping to win the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, which would pave the way for him to launch a leadership challenge.

Burnham recently signalled he could bring in a 10-year plan to renationalise the water industry, saying reform is needed to put the public interest first.

By Holly Williams, Press Association Business Editor

Press Association: Finance

source: PA

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