Why is Thames Water getting £3bn and will it save it from collapse?

The debt deal makes special administration – a form of temporary nationalisation – unlikely. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Thames Water has won court approval for up to £3bn in emergency debt that will allow it to avoid collapse – at least in the short-term.

The debt package is an important staging post for the utility, which supplies water and sewage services to nearly a quarter of the UK population, as it seeks to repair its finances.