Southern Water gets rating downgrade amid ‘challenging funding conditions’ Southern’s latest downgrade by Fitch follows a similar move by ratings agency Moody’s earlier in November. Evening Standard · Nov 19, 2024
Thames Water: Fears of more bill hikes as £38bn bill revealed A new report has said Thames Water is in worse financial straits than already thought The Independent UK · Nov 18, 2024
Thames Water’s IT ‘falling apart’ and is hit by cyber-attacks, sources claim Exclusive: Company relies on obsolete tech and there are troubling security gaps, Guardian investigation suggests The Guardian - UK · Nov 18, 2024
What the papers say – November 18 These are the stories making headines to start the week. The Independent UK · Nov 18, 2024
Floods, explosions and asbestos: Thames Water faces potential problems on all fronts Exclusive: Senior managers say they are forced to press ahead with orders for vital items without approval The Guardian - UK · Nov 17, 2024
Thames Water supply ‘on knife-edge’ with £23bn repairs needed Exclusive: Company has failed to tackle serious safety concerns or upgrade vital IT systems, Guardian investigation reveals The Guardian - UK · Nov 17, 2024
Housing developments in London flushing raw sewage directly into rivers Seven housing developments in north and west London are found to be flushing sewage directly into rivers that flow into the Thames Evening Standard · Nov 15, 2024
Southern Water’s debt downgraded to junk status by Moody’s Company close to technical default on some of its debt, underlining UK industry’s precarious state The Guardian - UK · Nov 14, 2024
Thames Water should explain its murky logic on fundraising Transparency around this emergency process has been miserable as company looks for approval to borrow £3bn more The Guardian - UK · Nov 13, 2024
Thames Water gains key support from creditors for £3bn funding lifeline Utilities firm says 75% of class A bondholders back emergency package aimed at staving off collapse The Guardian - UK · Nov 13, 2024
Thames Water rescue deal reaches ‘important milestone’ in creditor backing The heavily indebted utility company has agreed a deal for £3 billion in extra funding, but it needed 75% of its senior creditors to agree to it. Evening Standard · Nov 13, 2024
Thames Water board split over two competing deals to save it from insolvency Split comes despite chair’s preference for deal from group including US hedge funds Elliott Partners and Silver Point plus others The Guardian - UK · Nov 10, 2024
Hidden London: Crossness Pumping Station, the cathedral of sewage Sir Joseph Bazalgette was the Willy Wonka of this particular chocolate factory, explains Steven Elliot James Evening Standard · Nov 9, 2024
Thames Water is desperate for cash. But board should still exploit bondholder rivalry Jostling for position before eventual debt-for-equity swap gives opportunity to fight for £3bn lifeline with least worst terms The Guardian - UK · Nov 4, 2024
The Independent UK · Nov 4, 2024 Thames Water creditors try to rally more investors for £1.5bn rescue funding The water company’s lenders, including investment giants BlackRock, Abrdn and M&G, want more firms to take part in their rescue funding deal.
Evening Standard · Oct 25, 2024 Thames Water: Why does the struggling water firm need emergency funding? Thames Water has said it is seeking up to £3 billion in emergency loans in order to stay afloat until at least October next year.
The Guardian - UK · Oct 25, 2024 Struggling Thames Water pushes for £3bn lifeline with cash due to run out in December Fresh funds are ‘liquidity bridge’ to stabilise firm and give it time to secure long-term investment, says boss
Evening Standard · Oct 25, 2024 Thames Water reveals £3 billion emergency financing plan to keep it solvent until October 2025 Proposals could provide Thames with up to £3 billion of lifeline cash
Evening Standard · Oct 25, 2024 Thames Water launches plan to raise up to £3bn in emergency funding The struggling utilities giant has put forward the deal amid continued efforts to restructure its significant debt pile.
The Guardian - UK · Oct 22, 2024 New Water Commission must create an environmental enforcer that is feared The current division of responsibilities between Ofwat, the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate hasn’t worked
The Guardian - UK · Oct 22, 2024 New commission may ban English water companies from making a profit Defra body, created to overhaul system amid public fury, may force firms to be run for public good rather than shareholder returns
Evening Standard · Oct 22, 2024 Water regulator Ofwat could be abolished over sewage scandal as firms push for bill hikes of up to 84% Thames Water has asked to hike bills by 54%
The Guardian - UK · Oct 22, 2024 Rail, water, energy: the big projects likely to be in Rachel Reeves’ budget Chancellor expected to promote range of infrastructure plans to boost economy, including reviving parts of HS2
Evening Standard · Oct 22, 2024 Water companies ask to raise bills by even more than first planned Southern Water, Thames Water and others demanded steeper increases than set out earlier this year despite regulator Ofwat trying to reduce rises.
The Independent UK · Oct 22, 2024 Water companies push for higher bills again as customers face up to 84% hike Utilities including beleaguered Thames Water have applied to the regulator, Ofwat, to hike tariffs so they can upgrade their networks