UK working on contingency plan for indebted Thames Water -Sky News

Worries over Thames Water's 14 billion pounds ($17.8 billion) of debt have prompted talks between ministers and Ofwat, the UK's water regulator, about the possibility of placing Thames Water into a "special administration regime", Sky said on Wednesday. Thames Water is owned by financial investors including biggest shareholder Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System with a 32% stake, and UK pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme with 20%.

The British government is drawing up contingency plans to bring privately-owned Thames Water, the country's biggest water company, into temporary state ownership in case it collapses under its debt pile, Sky News reported. Worries over Thames Water's 14 billion pounds ($17.8 billion) of debt have prompted talks between ministers and Ofwat, the UK's water regulator, about the possibility of placing Thames Water into a "special administration regime", Sky said on Wednesday.

Thames Water is owned by financial investors including biggest shareholder Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System with a 32% stake, and UK pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme with 20%. Thames Water's chief executive Sarah Bentley stepped down with immediate effect on Tuesday after months of negative headlines over sewage spills and creaking infrastructure.

She was replaced by two co-chief executives, chief finance officer Alastair Cochran and former Ofwat boss Cathryn Ross, who has been at Thames Water since 2021. With 15 million customers in London and areas to the west of the capital, Thames Water supplies about 27% of Britain's population. It was privatised in 1989.

Thames Water could not immediately be reached for comment. ($1 = 0.7858 pounds)