Thames Water should go into administration, investor says

A major investor calls for Thames Water to be placed into special administration, warning the UK is 'sleepwalking' into a poor deal for the public. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Thames Water should go into administration, investor says

Contesto

The UK government is being urged to place the nation's largest water utility, Thames Water, into special administration by a major investor, who accuses ministers of 'sleepwalking' into a bad deal for taxpayers and bill-payers. The call comes from a rival bidder, frustrated by the current trajectory of negotiations over the company's future, which serves 16 million customers across London and the South East. The investor's stark warning highlights the deepening crisis surrounding the debt-laden company. Placing Thames Water into a special administration regime, a form of temporary public control, would represent the most drastic intervention since the water industry was privatized over three decades ago. This process would see the government's appointed administrators assume control to ensure the continuity of essential water and sewage services while restructuring the company's finances, a move that could ultimately leave the public bearing significant costs. The current standoff stems from Thames Water's unsustainable £15 billion debt pile and its repeated failures to meet environmental and service targets. Regulator Ofwat has rejected the company's request for a 40% bill increase and more lenient spending commitments, deeming its latest business plan as insufficient. This has left shareholders, including major pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, refusing to inject the promised £500 million of fresh equity, creating a financial impasse that threatens the company's operational viability. The rival bidder's intervention suggests significant private sector dissent with the government's current approach, which has focused on encouraging a last-minute private sector rescue. The investor argues that prolonging this uncertainty is detrimental, and that a swift move to administration would provide clarity and a cleaner slate for restructuring. This perspective contends that the alternative—a hastily arranged private deal with extensive government guarantees or softened regulatory penalties—would represent worse value for the public, effectively socializing the risks of corporate failure while allowing private entities to retain future profits. Critics of the...

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Categoria: cronaca