Biggest Private UK Water Company Will Run Out Of Money By March; Just Paid Nearly $1 Million In Bonuses

Thames Water has said it will run out of cash by next March if it fails to secure a £3bn financial lifeline, as it admitted its sewage spills had risen sharply. Britain’s biggest water supplier said on Tuesday that all of its funds may be “exhausted” if it failed to secure the emergency funding from its creditors, putting it at risk of temporary nationalisation.

The heavily indebted company recorded a 40% increase in the number of pollution incidents in the six months to 30 September. Thames reported 359 category one to three pollution incidents in that period, blaming an especially wet spring and summer. The industry has faced public outcry over sewage spills into seas and waterways. The Thames Water chief executive, Chris Weston, said that after “record rainfall and groundwater levels in our region, pollution and spills are unfortunately up”.

Thames faces two critical court dates, on 17 December and 20 January, in order to secure approval for the money – referred to as a “liquidity extension” – which some creditors have already agreed to lend. Weston sought to justify staff receiving bonuses of £770,000 despite criticism from regulators, rising consumer bills and problems with environmental performance. He said: “We need to attract talent to this company. We operate in a competitive market and if we don’t offer competitive packages people will not come and work at Thames and that will not solve the problem.” Weston took on the job in January and was awarded a £195,000 bonus for his first three months at the company.

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Giles Bristow, the chief executive of the pressure group Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Yet more excuses from Thames Water for yet another period of shocking sewage performance. What have their customers’ bills been going towards? This is a prime example of the urgent need for the government to radically reform England’s broken water sector.” Tim Farron, the environment spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said“This latest shocking rise in sewage spills must be the final straw for Thames Water. The government must put this broken firm into special administration to give customers the fair deal they deserve.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/10/thames-water-cash-emergency-funding-nationalisation