Latest news with #AdrianMontague
Times
15-07-2025
- Climate
- Times
Schools and homes evacuated after Thames Water pipe bursts
A burst water main in south London forced a primary school to close, caused 27 homes to be evacuated and left 12 postcodes with low or no mains pressure on Tuesday morning. Videos of the worst affected area in south Bermondsey showed water halfway up the wheels of parked cars and semi-submerging the playground of Ilderton primary school, which closed for the day. Water also made its way into the car park of the Den — the Millwall FC stadium — and into the food bank storage room of a near by church. The day care centre next door advised children to arrive in their wellies, and residents were told to avoid contact with the floodwater and wash their hands regularly. Ash, a resident, told the BBC: 'The water came all the way down the road, from the bridge all the way down to the train station. I've only ever seen this in a tsunami or a hurricane-like situation.' Another resident, Lauren, said: 'It was quite scary really because we didn't know how high it was going to come up. I'm just so grateful that the house isn't damaged.' The flood happened on the same day that Thames Water released its latest financial accounts, revealing a £1.65 billion loss. Sir Adrian Montague, the company's chairman, today also told MPs on the environment, food and rural affairs committee that Thames Water was still in 'crisis mode'. 'What we are here to do now is to help it avoid a special administration,' he said. 'It will take at least a decade to turn Thames around,' added Chris Weston, the water company's chief executive. The flood started in the early hours of Tuesday morning, with the London Fire Brigade and Met Police arriving soon after. Southwark council said its staff had set up a rest centre to help those who had to leave their homes due to the flooding. Thames Water had sent a message to customers in the morning that said: 'Sorry that water may not be flowing properly. We're aware of a problem and we're in the area investigating. We'll get things back to normal as quickly as possible.' The flooding subsided by early afternoon as the supplier isolated the broken pipe section but the leak left debris behind and residents were still advised to avoid local roads. The council and emergency services continued to manage traffic, repair damage to roads and distribute water and sandbags into the afternoon. Miatta Fahnbulleh, MP for Peckham and minister for energy consumers, thanked those involved in the quick response online. • Water industry is 'deaf' to crisis facing sector, warn MPs On Tuesday afternoon Thames Water said: 'Our teams are onsite and have isolated the section of pipe that needs repairing. Water pressure continues returning to the area and customers should be seeing their supply come back. Your pressure may be lower than normal at first, but it will recover over the remainder of the day.' The water supplier, the UK's largest, with 16 million customers, also experienced a sharp increase in pollution incidents during the past year.
ITV News
09-07-2025
- Business
- ITV News
Thames Water opts not to claw-back £2.5m of bonuses despite government disapproval
Thames Water is sitting in the departure lounge waiting to find out it's destined for bright new horizons or the arms of the taxpayer. The company is beset by uncertainty, performing poorly and therefore a regular target of both political flak and public fury. Who'd want to manage a company like Thames? On one level, you can understand the logic of promising 21 senior managers at Thames bonuses totalling £15.7 million, just for hanging on in there until June 2026. You can also understand why the payouts, which are not linked to performance, are being characterised as rewarding something that looks a lot like failure. The Management Retention Plan (MRP) is targeted at a 'small number of individuals considered to be critical to both the Company's restructuring process and ongoing operational improvement,' explains Sir Adrian Montague, Thames' chairman. His letter to the Environment Select Committee reveals that eight members of the firm's leadership team of 40 resigned in the year to March 2025, and that those who remain are 'regularly' approached with offers to jump ship. In an attempt to hold onto 'the highest calibre of talent,' Thames Water paid nearly £2.5 million to its senior managers on April 21. The managers, who are all paid salaries of between £100,000 and £500,000, are due to receive the same amount again in December and a further £10.8 million next June. The company paused its MRP in May after the government expressed disapproval. Montague says the board does not intend to recover the bonuses that have been paid to date. He adds that the MRP 'was and remains paused' pending a decision by OFWAT on whether it should be allowed to continue. Thames is financing the bonuses using money from an emergency loan of £3 billion which is intended to keep the firm afloat while its future is decided. The loan carries an interest rate of 9.75% plus fees, and was advanced by the same group of investors who are collectively owed more than £11 billion by the business and who are now seeking to become its new owners. OFWAT says it was not consulted about the bonuses and only became aware of them after they had been paid. In his letter to MPs, the chief executive, David Black, said he was 'disappointed at the lack of transparency… at a time when remuneration in the water sector is under significant public scrutiny'. The government had already moved to block the bonuses paid the executives at six water companies, including Thames, in 2024/25 but the rules only extend to chief executives, chief financial officer and chairs. MPs have recalled Montague and Chris Westen, the CEO of Thames (who is not a member of the MRP), to answer questions on Tuesday July 15. The next episode of the box set everyone hopes is coming to an end.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hong Kong giant CKI demands to rejoin auction of stricken Thames Water
The Hong Kong-based investor CK Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) is demanding to be readmitted to the auction of ailing Thames Water, days after its preferred bidder walked away and pushed it closer to the abyss of nationalisation. Sky News can exclusively reveal that CKI wrote to Sir Adrian Montague, the chairman of Thames Water, on Monday, seeking access to due diligence materials and insisting that it could be ready to table a formal bid to take control of the company within six weeks. In the letter, which was signed by Andy Hunter, CKI's deputy managing director, the owner of Northumbrian Water said it was keen to rejoin the Thames Water board's equity-raise process, roughly three months after submitting a multibillion pound proposal to take control. Money latest: Britain's biggest water utility has been plunged back into crisis by a decision last week by KKR, the private equity firm, to abandon its status as preferred bidder. Sky News revealed that the decision was made after talks between KKR and Downing Street officials amid concerns about the political risk of bailing out a company which supplies essential services to more than 15m people. Since then, Thames Water's biggest group of creditors - accounting for approximately £13bn of its vast debt-pile - has submitted what it described as a £17bn proposal to recapitalise the company. This, the bondholders said, would comprise £3bn of new equity and more than £2bn of debt funding. Existing shareholders would be completely wiped out, while there would also be several billion pounds of debt writedowns aimed at restoring financial resilience and improving services, The bondholders are reported to seeking immunity from prosecution for Thames Water's environmental failings, while they also want an agreement that Ofwat, the industry regulator, would drastically reduce the level of financial penalties facing the company. Last month, Thames Water was fined a record £123m over sewage leaks and the payment of dividends, with Ofwat lambasting the company over its performance and governance. Sir Adrian has run into yet more difficulties in recent days, with MPs on a key Commons select committee questioning evidence he had given to it and calling on Thames Water to claw back hundreds of thousands of pounds paid to a number of senior executives as retention payments in recent months. Under new laws, Thames Water is among half a dozen water companies which have been barred from paying bonuses this year because of their poor environmental records. CKI owns large swathes of British infrastructure, including Northumbrian Water, Northern Gas Networks, UK Power Networks and Eversholt, the rolling-stock leasing company which has been put up for sale. Its expertise in running major companies of the scale of Thames Water would resolve a headache for ministers anxious to avoid placing the group into a special administration regime (SAR), which would incur a multibillion pound bill for taxpayers. Ministers are also said to be wary about the lack of experience in the bondholder group at running a major water company, although Sky News revealed last week that the business veteran Mike McTighe had been lined up to spearhead their interest. "This is a proven operator versus a group of financial engineers," said one person close to CKI. However, a takeover of Thames Water by CKI could yet face stiff political opposition. In April, a cross-party group of politicians wrote to Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, expressing concerns about CKI's links to Beijing. Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader and a strident critic of Chinese investment in the UK, posted on social media last week that a CKI takeover of Thames Water "should be avoided at all costs". Read more from Sky News:Unemployment rate highest in four years CKI had already expressed frustration at being eliminated from the Thames Water process in April, with The Times reporting that it had written to Ofwat to express its dismay. In recent weeks, the government has described Thames Water as "stable", but said it was ready to step in and take control of the company if required to. The company effectively faces a deadline of late July to finalise a rescue deal because of a referral of its five-year regulatory settlement to the Competition and Markets Authority. The Hong Kong-based company declined to comment on Tuesday.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Thames Water rescue faces 'short and closing window', creditors warn
Thames Water faces a 'very short and closing window' to ensure its survival as a private business after a key investor pulled out of a crucial rescue deal, its major creditors have warned. Private equity giant KKR abandoned its pledge to inject £4billion of equity to stabilise Thames Water's balance sheet and ultimately return the company to the stock exchange in 10 years, it emerged on Tuesday. KKR's exit left Britain's biggest water company once again circling the drain as it struggles to secure its future and avoid nationalisation. The Thames Water Creditor Group said on Wednesday it would continue discussions with industry regulator Ofwat and the Government in the coming weeks, but warned there is little time to secure the 'urgent and fundamental reset' the debt-riddled utility requires. The creditors confirmed they have the 'committed capital, capabilities and expertise needed' to 'fix the root causes of Thames Water's problems, restore its balance sheet, rebuild customer trust and fix the fundamentals of the business once and for all'. Thames, which serves more than 16 million customers, kept the threat of nationalisation at bay in late March after judges dismissed an appeal against the company's £3billion emergency bailout package. Its chair Adrian Montague described KKR's decision as to abandon the group's rescue as 'disappointing'. Before KKR's selection as preferred investment partner, rival suitors included Hong Kong's CKI Infrastructure, UK-based Castle Water and a group of investors led by investment service Covalis. Thames Water became the central target of public outcry over sewage and pollution in the sector, while firms also faced criticism over poor upkeep of infrastructure and bumper shareholder payouts. It also comes as households around the country face double-digit bill increases in the coming years after a controversial funding package was approved by regulators. A spokesperson for the Thames creditors said: 'The [rescue] plan will break from the patterns of the past by delivering customers' priorities and improved outcomes for the environment in the shortest possible timeframe. 'The comprehensive recapitalisation proposal, which is fully-funded and targets a sustainable capital structure, will deliver substantial fresh investment to drive significant change under a new, highly experienced and accountable leadership team. 'These investors have the funding and experience required to deliver a transformation of the company's performance which marks a departure from past failings, creating a "new" Thames Water that works effectively alongside Government and regulators to deliver for the environment and economic growth. '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. Discussions with Ofwat and the Government will be advanced in the coming weeks to reach an agreement and turnaround for the benefit of customers and the environment.'
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Warning issued for 16 million UK households who have major water supplier
16 million households have been warned after a major update over their water supplier. The Thames Water preferred bidder KKR has pulled out of a rescue deal and the future of the troubled supplier is now in doubt. A US private equity group says it cannot proceed with acquiring a £4bn stake. The company has 'indicated that it will not be in a position to proceed', Thames Water said. Sir Adrian Montague, the company's chair, said: 'While today's news is disappointing, we continue to believe that a sustainable recapitalisation of the company is in the best interests of all stakeholders and continue to work with our creditors and stakeholders to achieve that goal. READ MORE: Martin Lewis urges homeowners to check council tax bands as they could be owed thousands READ MORE: Call for one group of UK drivers to be exempt from road tax READ MORE UK faces 'Spanish scorcher' heatwave with 31C as exact date it starts announced 'The company will therefore progress discussions on the senior creditors' plan with Ofwat and other stakeholders. The board would like to thank the senior creditors for their continuing support.' Thames Water, which serves 16 million customers in London and south-east England, needs to secure fresh funding for its operations by the end of June. Labour Party MP and Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the Government was 'keeping a very close eye' on the Thames Water situation. Mr Reed told LBC Radio that 'Thames itself remains stable' but added: 'The Government is clearly keeping a very close eye on what's going on. 'We're monitoring the situation, but there's no disruption to water supply. Thames have got a number of options that they're exploring.' He went on and also said that 'as things stand' Thames Water is 'a stable, ongoing company' but the Government was 'ready for any eventuality'. 'If the circumstances happened with any company, any water company, where there was a breach and it would need to be put into special administration, that would happen but, as things stand, that's not applying to any company right now."
