One of Thames Water’s big shareholders has given its backing to the embattled water company, after the surprise departure of its chief executive and crisis talks with the government over its viability.
Thames Water, which is buckling under a £14bn debt burden and has embarked on an eight-year turnaround plan, is owned by a series of pension funds and other governments’ sovereign wealth funds. The second-biggest shareholder is a UK pension fund for academics, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which holds about 20% and is the first investor to make public its support for the company.
“We have given our backing to Thames Water’s turnaround plan and net zero roadmap and engage with them regularly to support their long-term strategy,” Bill Galvin, the chief executive of USS, said on Friday in a note to the pension fund’s sponsoring employers.
“We remain of the view that, with an appropriate regulatory environment, the long-term objective of repairing important UK infrastructure and paying pensions to our members are in strong alignment,” he said.
Shareholders have recently injected £500m into the business but the water company’s management is asking them to stump up a further £1bn to shore up its finances, and fund the upgrade of ageing infrastructure. It is understood discussions about further funding faltered after the board was warned billions more would be needed.
The biggest shareholder is the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, which has a near-32% stake. Another 10% is owned by a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, and almost 9% is held by China’s sovereign wealth fund.
Thames took on much of its debt when it was under the ownership of Australia’s Macquarie, a big infrastructure investor. It has missed targets for improving its operational and environmental performance and is under huge pressure to fix leaks from its pipes, which have hit a five-year high and to stem the flow of raw sewage into rivers, for which it has been repeatedly fined.
The company has held emergency talks with the water regulator for England and Wales, Ofwat, ministers and government departments over its future. Measures under discussion include placing Thames into temporary national ownership, which could require taxpayer funds, while customers may face higher water bills.
Thames intends to publish its annual report and accounts before the 15 July regulatory deadline. Investors had expected them to be released this week.
