Reports from the BBC and Sky News of Thames Water may need a bailout or some intervention to stop it from going into Administration because of the debt that the company owns and can not pay back. There are reports that Thames has about £14 billion in debt on its books.
It has been reported by The Daily Telegraph that Thames Water tried to raise £1 Billion from shareholders. They think this will help slow their debt crisis and give them time to develop a strategy. No reports have indicated if they have been successful so far.
Thames Water Statement said: "Thames Water is continuing to work constructively with its shareholders in relation to the further equity funding expected to be required to support Thames Water's turnaround and investment plans."
Ofwat, the regulator of Thames Water, has been in direct contact with the company's board and Ministers on different plans. Questions have to be asked of Ofwat as their regulator on how they allowed the company to accrue so much debt. Let alone the sewage problem it has caused.
When asked, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said, "It's a matter for the company and Shareholders".
Tuesday, Sarah Bently resigned as CEO after the controversy about her performance bonuses and the major sewage problems plaguing London and the South East Coast from Thames Water.
Those reports came two weeks ago, and at that time, the public asked for her to be fired. With this financial mountain sitting on the company's back, she quit. Thames Water has not given a reason for her stepping down, but it's easy to see why.
Will Thames Water need some bailout to be able to stay afloat? The government will have to do this or put them into a special administration regime, where the government would take control of the company for some time until it can get out of the mountain of debt it's under.
With this probably needing to be the case, an investigation needs to be launched into the company's directors into how this happened, from the sewage leaked to the water leaks and now this much debt on the books. There needs to be answers given to the public on why Thames Water is in this state.