Ministers are still understood to be hopeful that a “private market solution” can be found under which Thames (and Southern) can restructure its finances without government intervention, the newspaper The Guardian writes, reporting on the efforts of the scandal ridden private water company Southern Water to get money.
An investor presentation posted to Southern Water’s website shows that it will need to tap investors for up to £3.8bn worth of debt over the next five years, as part of a revised business plan – on top of needing to raise £650m worth of equity. Its presentation highlighted that the company, which provides water for 2.7 million customers in the south-east of England, had successfully raised £1.6bn of debt and equity to support its turnaround plan, over the last financial year, including funds from its majority owner, Macquarie Asset Management.
The supplier has been majority-owned by Macquarie since 2021, when the Australian investment firm provided an emergency £1bn cash injection that helped the company avoid possible renationalisation. It invested a further £550m in Southern Water last year.
The company has attempted to raise water bills more than any other English water company. Southern said in its investor presentation that it planned to ask Ofwat to allow it to increase the average annual household bill to £734 by the 2029-30 financial year. That is the highest average bill among its main rivals, according to its presentation.
