Thames Water creditors propose new board to avert possible nationalisation

A consortium of 100 institutional investors, London & Valley Water, which controls £17bn of Thames Water's £21bn debt, has put forward a restructuring plan that would appoint Liz Barber, former chief executive of Yorkshire Water, and Clive Selley, former chief executive of Openreach, to the board, alongside Dame Bernadette Kelly, former permanent secretary of the Department for Transport. Mike McTighe, currently chair of Openreach, would become the new chair of Thames Water, replacing Sir Adrian Montague, if the government signs off on a £10bn rescue package.

The move is designed to reassure officials as Mayor Andy Burnham’s team evaluates a special administration regime that could temporarily nationalise the utility. Campaign group We Own It denounced the plan as a “cosy stitch-up” that does not serve the 16 million customers. The consortium, which includes investors such as Apollo Global Management, Elliott Management, Farallon Capital Management and Silver Point Capital, has hired Pallas Partners and Akin Gump to prepare for potential litigation should nationalisation occur.