The future of Thames, which serves 16 million customers in London and the Thames Valley and is buckling under \u00a317.6bn of debt it has run up in the decades since privatisation, will be one of the most pressing issues in his in-tray when Burnham enters Downing Street, expected to be within the next two weeks.<\/p>\n
The lenders, who include the US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, which is run by the billionaire Trump donor and hedge funder Paul Singer, along with Apollo Global Management, Silver Point Capital, BlackRock and M&G, have been trying to take ownership of Thames without a SAR after Thames\u2019s bosses failed to sell the utility to the US investment group KKR<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n Thames has been trying to stave off financial collapse for nearly three years<\/a> and could run out of money in October.<\/p>\n The creditor group, London & Valley Water, has argued that an SAR would require multiple billions of pounds of taxpayer money and no one knows how long it would last, and that it would create further uncertainty for the company\u2019s 8,000 workers and its supply chain.<\/p>\n The creditors\u2019 rescue proposal would inject \u00a33.35bn of new equity into the water company and provide \u00a33.25bn of fresh debt, while Thames would be spared fines for pollution of rivers and the sea for four years.<\/p>\n Other potential bidders for Thames have called for the company to be taken into an SAR, including the Hong Kong-based CK Infrastructure Holdings, the majority owner of Northumbrian Water. Castle Water, which runs billing services for Thames Water\u2019s business customers, has also signalled it wants to bid.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Four years ago, the government recovered nearly the entire cost of temporarily nationalising the energy provider Bulb after agreeing to sell it to its rival Octopus for \u00a33bn.<\/p>\n Under an SAR, Thames would be run by an independent insolvency expert on behalf of taxpayers to maintain services before finding a buyer. Its debt and interest payments could be temporarily frozen. However, the government would have a duty to seek maximum value for creditors in an SAR.<\/p>\n A Thames Water spokesperson said: \u201cWe continue to work with all parties to reach an agreement that supports Thames Water\u2019s long-term financial stability and ensures the uninterrupted delivery of our biggest infrastructure upgrade in 150 years while continuing to meet the needs of our 16 million customers.\u201d<\/p>\n The creditor group declined to comment. The government and Ofwat have been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n Contact the Guardian Business team<\/p>\n The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact the Business team confidentially using the following methods:<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Scroll down and click on Secure Messaging. <\/p>\n When asked who you wish to contact please select the \u2018Business (UK & Global)\u2019 team.<\/p>\n SecureDropIf you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/500.jpg\")
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