Thames Water is worthless: that is the opinion of the largest investor
- Omers said it would ‘completely write off’ its investment in Thames Water
Thames Water’s largest shareholder has slashed the value of its stake to zero as the crisis engulfing Britain’s biggest water supplier deepens.
The Canadian pension fund Omers says it is ‘completely writing off’ its investment in Thames.
Its 31.7 percent stake in Thames parent company Kemble was valued at as much as £990 million at the end of 2021.
Last year this was cut to £700m as concerns about the company’s debt levels mounted. But the pension fund has said it is now worth nothing.
The update came just a day after Michael McNicholas, managing director at Omers Infrastructure, stepped down from his role as non-executive director of Thames.
Drying up: Canadian pension fund Omers said it would ‘completely write off’ its investment in Thames
Omers’ move to distance itself from Thames underlines the scale of the crisis at Britain’s largest water company, which is fighting for survival.
The future of the company, which has £18 billion in debt, has been in doubt since shareholders refused to hand over £500 million last month amid a row with regulator Ofwat.
The utility group, which has 16 million customers, said shareholders were withholding cash because regulator demands made the business plan “uninvestable.”
Thames wanted to increase customer bills by 40 percent to fund an £18.7 billion investment plan, but Ofwat blocked the increase. The parent company also defaulted on debt repayments last month.
Thames Water was privatized in 1989 under Margaret Thatcher, when she sold the nationalized water and sewerage industry for £7.6 billion.
But taxpayers could foot the bill if the government is forced to bail out Thames, which faces a challenge from the government if it cannot raise new funds by the end of next year.
Thames has said it wants to spend at least £1.1 billion on ‘projects that benefit the environment’.
Ofwat will publish a ruling on the five-year plans of all water companies – including water bills – on June 12.
Severn Trent chief defends £3.2m deal
Responsible: Liv Garfield
The Severn Trent boss has defended her multi-million pound pay package despite being responsible for more than 60,000 sewage spills last year.
Liv Garfield, who has been CEO since 2014, received £3.2 million in salary, bonuses and shares in 2023.
The number of sewage leaks through Severn Trent was 60,253, over a third more than the previous year. Garfield told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that last year’s spill record ‘doesn’t give me a good feeling’.
But she added that the company had made “tremendous progress in river quality” and “improved river health.” The company had made “dramatic, dramatic progress,” she claimed.