Thames Water Limited

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Thames Water chief executive Sarah Bentley resigns in shock departure

Sarah Bentley has stepped down from her role as chief executive of Thames Water with immediate effect after three years in the job.

The UK’s largest water supplier confirmed her departure today – including leaving the board – and revealed she will support her interim replacements in the short term.

AiY(D)

[Lootman]

Three years is a decent stint in any one position. Is anyone suggesting there is something sinister about this?

[Mike4]

Three years is a decent stint in any one position. Is anyone suggesting there is something sinister about this?

Presiding over a company that's been intermittently pumping raw sh!t into our rivers for the whole of their tenure doesn't look good on the CV, so probably best to draw a line under it now its turned into a political hot potato.

Or do I have the wrong company?

No I don't.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ges-rivers

[Lootman]

Three years is a decent stint in any one position. Is anyone suggesting there is something sinister about this?

Presiding over a company that's been intermittently pumping raw sh!t into our rivers for the whole of their tenure doesn't look good on the CV, so probably best to draw a line under it now its turned into a political hot potato.

How many UK water utilities do not do that?

Did that never happen when water (and everything else) was brought to you by the same workers who just happened to be public sector workers?

[Mike4]

Presiding over a company that's been intermittently pumping raw sh!t into our rivers for the whole of their tenure doesn't look good on the CV, so probably best to draw a line under it now its turned into a political hot potato.

How many UK water utilities do not do that?

Did that never happen when water (and everything else) was brought to you by the same workers who just happened to be public sector workers?

It happened occasionally, not routinely like it does now.

Her £30m could have paid for one or two new settlement tanks I would imagine, but they needed someone competent at the helm and they don't come cheap.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Thames Water May be Insolvent


How many other utility companies could be in a similar place? With £54bn (possibly more please check) of debt across them all it's possible there balance sheets could be getting top heavy with debt at a time when interest rates and bonds are rising, with a demand on new infrastructure of £10bn and a possible customer revolt if these costs are passed on through rising bills.

Water firms’ debts since privatisation hit £54bn as Ofwat refuses to impose limits (Dec' '22)
The scale of debt, or gearing, taken on by the nine main water and sewerage companies in England is raising concerns about their financial stability as interest rates rise.
...
They have been running ratios of debt to capital value from 60% to more than 80%, according to Ofwat data. The regulator has considered inserting conditions into water company licences to limit the debt a water company can take on in order to protect the public from the impact of financial collapse because of high levels of borrowing. But Ofwat has so far rejected the idea.

Ofwat concerned by financial health of three UK water firms (Nov' '21)
Ofwat called out Southern Water, Yorkshire Water and SES Water for “weak levels of financial resilience” and levels of customer service which lag behind the rest of the industry.

David Black, the regulator’s interim chief executive, said: “It is vital that water companies are financially resilient and also that they are transparent about their financial decisions. On both fronts, they have work to do.”

UK: Private water companies awash with debt as dividends go to shareholders
Since privatisation, in 1989, some £ 50 billion has been paid out in dividends. In a speech to the industry in 2018 Conservative MP Michael Gove, then environment secretary, took aim at the sector for failing to invest. “In cash terms, over £ 18.1 billion was paid out to shareholders of the nine large English regional water and sewerage companies between 2007 and 2016. Of course, generous dividends can be justified if they’ve been generated by the lean and efficient running of an operation — and have been paid out after appropriate capital investment. But the £ 18.1 billion paid out in dividends was actually almost all of the profit made by water companies after tax. The total profit was £ 18.8 billion over the same period,” Gove said.

Investment in the water industry(11 March 2022)
We have allowed an average of around £1bn every year to be spent on improving the environment since privatisation.
...
Prior to privatisation the industry was competing for investment with everything else a government could spend money on; education, health, welfare. This meant that investment was constrained and so water quality was relatively poor, beaches had real issues with sewage and leakage was a significant issue.
...
Companies are well funded and could invest more if they wanted to. For example, in the 2015-2020 period, water and sewerage companies actually underspent by 5% our price review allowances for investment in their wastewater facilities.
...
If a company takes on new debt, they pay interest on that capital. If a company raises equity, they will pay dividends to the equity holders that reflect business performance of the company. These two costs (interest payments or dividend payments), are the cost of the capital the companies raise. If a company did not pay dividends, it would struggle to get access to finance to fund investment and this would limit the level of investment and impact on service for future customers.
...
We care about the environmental impact of companies – including on river quality and storm overflows. That is why we are pleased the Environment Act 2021 will introduce new obligations on English water companies to provide more transparency about river quality and overflows, and progressively reduce the harm from storm overflow discharges.

We’re working very closely with colleagues at the Environment Agency and other relevant bodies to ensure that protecting the environment is as much a focus for water companies as it is for us.

AiY(D)

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Government reportedly considering plans to take Thames Water into temporary public ownership
The Government is reportedly considering plans to place Thames Water into a special administration regime, as concerns grow over its mounting debt pile.

Sky News reported that the company would effectively be placed into temporary public ownership, in a similar process used when energy supplier, Bulb, collapsed in 2021.

The talks, which are said to involve DEFRA, Ofwat and the treasury, remain at a preliminary stage and may never need to be used.
...
The Daily Telegraph reported overnight that Thames Water is trying to raise £1bn from shareholders, which could be used to service its debt pile and improve services.

AiY(D)

[Dod101]

Government reportedly considering plans to take Thames Water into temporary public ownership
The Government is reportedly considering plans to place Thames Water into a special administration regime, as concerns grow over its mounting debt pile.

Sky News reported that the company would effectively be placed into temporary public ownership, in a similar process used when energy supplier, Bulb, collapsed in 2021.

The talks, which are said to involve DEFRA, Ofwat and the treasury, remain at a preliminary stage and may never need to be used.
...
The Daily Telegraph reported overnight that Thames Water is trying to raise £1bn from shareholders, which could be used to service its debt pile and improve services.

AiY(D)

What is a regulator in place for? This seems so fundamental an issue that it is the regulator that should be fired.

Dod ( i do not hold any water company shares)

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Off Balance Sheet Debt at £21.7bn

AiY(D)

[scotview]

Are dividends from Thames Water theft ?

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Source


I've got to ask the stupid question ... haven't we known about global warming for a few decades and the climate change it would bring?

If the water companies are now pumping so much raw sewage (sorry it must be said, raw sewage sanitises the event ... let's call it what it is ... it's s.hit) into our rivers and seas that we now can't swim in them, and wildlife is being killed, are they

1. Asleep at the helm? Unable to forecast the increased demand on sewage treatment and storage
2. Fudging the forecasts?
3. Focused on a different agenda?

Whichever answer is correct they don't quite seem capable of the task they are paid to carry out

AiY(D)

[Alaric]

Focused on a different agenda?

I think they are focused on extracting dividends to the benefit of institutional investors by borrowing to excess. Thames Water have been found out by the rise in interest rates. Although £ 1000 of equity raises the same amont of capital as £ 1000 of debt, it's not the same when the going gets tough as dividends can be cancelled whilst debt payments cannot without forcing the Company into administratuion or needing bailouts.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Focused on a different agenda?

I think they are focused on extracting dividends to the benefit of institutional investors by borrowing to excess. Thames Water have been found out by the rise in interest rates. Although £ 1000 of equity raises the same amont of capital as £ 1000 of debt, it's not the same when the going gets tough as dividends can be cancelled whilst debt payments cannot without forcing the Company into administratuion or needing bailouts.

Correct . Step forward kind sir and collect the keys to your new car .

It's classic asset striping or in this case asset denial.

It's a simple redistribution of profits, using investors as cash mules.

AiY(D)

[XFool]

Somebody seems to think this is "Off topic". It isn't, it's bang on the nail:

Once again, the UK's system is seen to be: "privatise the upside, socialise the downside".

[servodude]

Somebody seems to think this is "Off topic". It isn't, it's bang on the nail:

Once again, the UK's system is seen to be: "privatise the upside, socialise the downside".

Stop talking the system down!
Perhaps they can polish the turds as they are released?

[XFool]

...Oops! Actually a repetition, I thought original had been deleted.

[Dod101]

Considering that Thames Water does not seem to be a company quoted on the stock exchange it is getting a lot of space here, and if anyone reads the Annual Report they will see that they are at pains to say the utility has not paid any dividend to the ultimate parent.

Dod

[daveh]

Considering that Thames Water does not seem to be a company quoted on the stock exchange it is getting a lot of space here, and if anyone reads the Annual Report they will see that they are at pains to say the utility has not paid any dividend to the ultimate parent.

Dod

I've just looked at who owns Thames water - and damn it seems I own 19% of it (or at least my pension scheme does:- USS).

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System 31.777%
Universities Superannuation Scheme 19.711%
Infinity Investments SA 9.900%
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation 8.706%
Hermes GPE 8.699%
China Investment Corporation 8.688%
Queensland Investment Corporation 5.352%
Aquila GP Inc. 4.995%
Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn 2.172%

Is who are listed on the thames water site

[Howard]

Am I the only one to note a pattern in AiY’s initial posts? Not one of them is in the least positive. It is really very sad for him because there are a lot of good things happening in this world.

Dod

Are you playing the man, not the ball?

Are your posts never negative?

On the subject of the post, it's difficult to be positive about Thames Water's performance over the tenure of the resigning Chief Executive. And the Australian bank which siphoned off millions from the company up to 2017. Pun intended.

regards

Howard

[Dod101]

Am I the only one to note a pattern in AiY’s initial posts? Not one of them is in the least positive. It is really very sad for him because there are a lot of good things happening in this world.

Dod

Are you playing the man, not the ball?

Are your posts never negative?

On the subject of the post, it's difficult to be positive about Thames Water's performance over the tenure of the resigning Chief Executive. And the Australian bank which siphoned off millions from the company. Pun intended.

regards

Howard

I suppose I am, but I am trying to show a bias here. It does not make for a very balanced view does it? It may be Company News but it is not quoted Company News and I cannot see how it fits into an investment thread.

Dod