Thames Water wins court backing for emergency debt package

It followed four days’ worth of hearing at the court earlier this month as to whether the deal should go ahead. The business has been on the verge of collapse for months, with debts of £19bn.  

Without the deal, the firm – which serves around 16 million customers – said it would run out of cash as early as the end of next month, which would have likely forced it into a special administration regime (SAR). It would have been the second utility provider this decade to have entered such a process following Bulb’s SAR in 2021. 

The deal will see Thames get £1.5bn in upfront cash, plus £1.5bn more to see it through an appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority – announced on Friday – to try and increase by more than 35% currently allowed by industry regulator Ofwat. This appeal was a key condition of the debt package.