Thames Water asks creditors to push £12bn of debt back to 2028
Thames Water has asked its lenders to extend repayment of debts falling due in March 2027 by a year to March 2028, with creditors holding more than £12bn of secured debt already signed up to the interim deal, as the company raises the first £600m of a £2.4bn emergency loan it sought last month. The utility, which serves 16 million customers and owes more than £20bn, had warned its cash would run out around the turn of the year.
The extension buys time for Andy Burnham to decide between letting the creditor group London & Valley Water — led by American hedge funds including Elliott Management and Silver Point, with BlackRock and M&G alongside — take the company over, a route that would mean writing off fines and softening environmental commitments, or putting Thames into special administration or some other form of state control. More than 100 creditors owning about £17bn of the debt have been negotiating a £10bn plan with Ofwat since KKR walked away in May 2025; Emma Reynolds said in June it did not go far enough, the Commons environment committee said in September the takeover should be ditched, and fresh proposals are expected before the end of the year. The company says its board, Ofwat and the regulators “have made no decision to accept and take forward any proposal”. Bills are already rising: Ofwat has allowed an extra £3.4bn in tariffs on top of the 36% average increase to 2030. Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats said “speeches don’t stop sewage”. Watch whether the creditors’ revised offer or nationalisation comes first.