Utility firm rescue bid has conditions

THAMES WATER CREDITORS WANT LESS REGULATION

- By HOLLY WILLIAMS PA Business Editor

A GROUP of Thames Water lenders have put forward plans for a multi-billion-pound rescue deal of the troubled supplier that would see them pump in new cash but ask for leniency in how it is regulated.

Creditors including US and UK investment firms have submitted a plan to regulator Ofwat to overhaul £17billion of Thames Water's debts, including investing another £3bn in new equity and a further £2bn of funding.

It would also involve writing off “several billion” pounds’ worth of debt and a “complete loss for existing shareholders” in what they claim would be the “largest financial loss suffered by investors on an infrastructure asset in British history”.

Under the proposals submitted to Ofwat, customer bills would not increase by more than the regulator has already approved over the next five years.