UK: Thames Water moves step closer to nationalisation after government objects to rescue deal.
The government has objected to a proposed rescue deal for Thames Water, in a move which takes the UK’s largest water company a step closer to a form of nationalisation.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds wrote to the industry regulator on Monday to raise concerns over the £10bn package put forward by the firm’s lenders.
Fears the company could collapse first emerged three years ago, and the government has been on standby to take control if required ever since.
A government spokesman told the BBC that the current offer “does not do enough to protect consumers or the environment”, but Thames and its lenders have said a market-led solution would be better for the company and its customers.
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