Thames Water creditors see a 'short and closing window' to rescue company

Thames Water's senior creditors said there was a “short and closing window” for a market-led rescue of the water company after US private equity firm KKR pulled out of a multibillion-pound funding plan on Tuesday.

The creditors said on Wednesday they had submitted a long-term plan to fix the root causes of Thames Waters' problems.

The heavily indebted water company, Britain's biggest, moved a step closer to nationalisation on Tuesday when KKR walked away from investing about £4bn (R96.7bn) of equity.

The group of senior debt holders said they had a proven track record of stewardship and could deliver “substantial fresh investment” to turn around the company under new leadership.

“The creditors believe that Thames Water requires an urgent and fundamental reset and there is a very short and closing window in which a market-led solution can succeed,” they said in a statement, adding that discussions with the regulator Ofwat and the government would be advanced in the coming weeks.

They are being advised by corporate troubleshooter Mike McTighe, who is a potential candidate for chair if the proposal succeeds, according to a source close to the creditors.

Thames Water in March agreed to postpone a challenge to the regulator's decision on how much it could increase customers' bills while it explored the potential equity raise. That deferral is set to expire next month.

A spokesperson for Thames Water declined to comment on the creditors' statement. It said on Tuesday, when announcing that KKR had walked away, that it would “progress discussions on the senior creditors' plan with Ofwat and other stakeholders”.

Reuters