Overview
- The London & Valley Water consortium said on Monday it would install four non-executive directors — Liz Barber, Clive Selley, Mike McTighe and Dame Bernadette Kelly — as part of a rescue that would keep Thames Water privately owned.
- The investors include Elliott Management, Apollo and Aberdeen Investments and have pledged to reinvest all profits into the business and take no dividends for 10 years if their recapitalisation is approved.
- Thames Water has warned it could run out of cash as soon as October, placing urgent pressure on ministers and the regulator Ofwat to decide on the rescue proposal or an alternative special administration route.
- Downside risks for a government takeover have slowed immediate action, with ministers pausing a fast move to special administration because of high projected taxpayer costs and legal complexity.
- The proposal follows a failed 2025 rescue attempt with KKR, rests on creditors who hold roughly £17bn of the company’s more than £20bn debt, and now faces scrutiny over customer protections and environmental standards.