A group of lenders to the parent company of Thames Water has hired advisers just weeks before £190m of debt held by Britain’s largest water company comes due.
Sky News has learned that a financial group owed by Kemble Water, the regulated business of Thames, has recruited staff at the Big Four accountancy firm as concerns grow over the company’s survival.
A £190m loan is due to be repaid or extended at the end of April, with the utility’s boss telling MPs in December that the money could not be repaid “at this time”.
The status of the successful conclusion of discussions with the lenders involved was unclear on Friday.
There has been uncertainty over Thames Water’s solvency since June last year. sky news revealed Whitehall has begun making contingency plans for its collapse.
Thames Water, which serves 15 million customers in London and southeast England, has come under intense pressure in recent years due to its poor record on leaks, sewage contamination, executive pay and management. shareholder dividends.
The company is facing a raft of hefty fines from the regulator and has asked Ofwat to take a package of measures to shore up its finances, including Increase in consumer bills up to 40%, and capital expenditure plans were delayed.
Ernst & Young declined to comment.
Separately, a body led by prominent City financier Edi Truell has proposed a deal to Thames Water’s pension trustees that would involve removing it from the company’s balance sheet Pension obligations of £1.7bn.
Mr Trull’s vehicle Pension SuperFund Capital has offered to structure the deal in such a way that Thames Water would not bear any cash costs, according to insiders.
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