Thames Water burns through £15mn a month on lawyers and advisers.
Thames Water is at present spending £15mn a month on lawyers and other advisers and the eventual bill for a restructuring could top £200mn, the company’s chief financial officer told London’s high court. Alastair Cochran disclosed the hefty fee bill on Tuesday during a crucial high court hearing, in which Britain’s biggest water utility is seeking approval to take out up to £3bn in loans from creditors to stave off an imminent cash crunch. Cochran estimated that the total amount spent on advisers by the time it finalised the planned loan from creditors, which include US hedge funds such as Elliott Management, would be in the region of £100mn to £120mn.
Water activist Feargal Sharkey comments:
“Thames Water tells the High Court that it’s currently spending £15 million PER MONTH on lawyers and advisers and that next year interest payments on its steaming debt pile will be between £800 to £900 million. Wanna guess who’s money it is they’re spending?”
