Feeding frenzy: how army of advisers is making millions from Thames Water

Critics of the latest debt deal says special administration would mean more money to fix leaky pipes and sewers and less spent on fees. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Sewage floating down Britain’s rivers has become a pungent political symbol. But a recent court case over Thames Water’s debts was not concerned with the flow of water and effluent so much as the flow of money.

Thames Water stands out amid the turmoil of the privatised water industry in England and Wales. Loaded up with about £19bn in debt, the company sought court approval to borrow as much as £3bn more from a group of existing creditors in a desperate attempt to avoid temporary nationalisation at the end of March.