{"id":18057,"date":"2026-07-21T10:37:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=18057"},"modified":"2026-07-21T10:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:37:05","slug":"thames-water-lenders-offer-golden-share-to-head-off-nationalisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=18057","title":{"rendered":"Thames Water lenders offer &#8216;golden share&#8217; to head off nationalisation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Thames Water&#8217;s main lenders are offering the government a &#8220;golden share&#8221; and more control for local authorities in a bid to stop the troubled supplier from being nationalised.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The government recently rejected a previous rescue proposal, and the BBC understands the lenders are preparing a legal challenge in case the new Andy Burnham-led government takes the firm into public hands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The &#8220;golden share&#8221; would give the government veto powers over major decisions such as mergers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The lenders are also proposing giving<b class=\"ssrcss-1xjjfut-BoldText e5tfeyi3\"> <\/b>local authorities greater involvement in the firm, similar to the relationship between United Utilities and Greater Manchester agreed when Burnham was the city&#8217;s mayor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In his first speech as prime minister on Monday, Burnham said he wanted to see greater public control of &#8220;life&#8217;s essentials&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sources close to the creditors have told the BBC that in the event of full nationalisation they would pursue payment in full of the outstanding debts, as has happened in previous cases, which could leave the government with a multi-billion-pound bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The London &amp; Valley Water (L&amp;VW ) consortium of lenders had already proposed a \u00a310bn deal to prevent Thames Water from entering administration. It would involve writing off nearly half of its debt and injecting new cash in return for leniency on future pollution fines. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The deal was rejected by the government in June, with then-environment secretary Emma Reynolds saying it did not do enough for consumers or the environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sources close to the new deal said the creditors had sweetened it with hundreds of millions in new money on top of the existing offer. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A golden share would give the government veto power over major decisions such as mergers and acquisitions. Golden shares are seen as a way for the government to retain a stake in companies of national significance or importance, such as Royal Mail or Rolls Royce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Any new proposals would have to be reviewed by Ofwat, the regulator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A government spokesperson said Thames Water &#8220;remains financially stable, but we stand ready for all eventualities, including applying for a Special Administration Regime [SAR] if that were to become necessary&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The government will always act in the national interest on these issues,&#8221; they added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">An SAR is a form of temporary nationalisation which would allow the government to recoup some taxpayer cash if Thames was sold again to a private buyer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">L&amp;VW said on Tuesday that the new offer had &#8220;material improvements&#8221; on the old one, and would benefit customers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A spokesperson said: &#8220;We continue to believe that the L&amp;VW plan is by far the fastest and most reliable route to solving Thames Water&#8217;s complex problems and improving outcomes for customers and the environment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">They said the new deal &#8220;achieves this without any government funding or cost to taxpayers&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Fears first emerged three years ago that Thames Water could collapse and it has recently warned it could run out of cash by November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">If the company does go bust, households will still have drinking water and sewerage services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Thames Water announced a hosepipe ban for all of its customers on Tuesday morning, citing the UK&#8217;s &#8220;exceptionally warm and dry spring&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The company, which supplies water and wastewater services for 16 million people across London and parts of southern England, was handed a \u00a3122.7m fine last year, the biggest ever issued by the industry regulator Ofwat, for breaching rules on sewage spills and shareholder payouts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Sources close to the creditors have previously told the BBC that in the event of full nationalisation, they would pursue payment in full of the outstanding debts as has happened in previous cases, which could leave the government with a multi-billion-pound bill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; 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and more control for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4117,14441,12751,386,2486,6124,1496],"class_list":["post-18057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-golden","tag-lenders","tag-nationalisation","tag-offer","tag-share","tag-thames","tag-water"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6.jpg",1200,675,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6.jpg",1200,675,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6.jpg",1200,675,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-1115x675.jpg",1115,675,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd4c4a0-84e0-11f1-8a1f-271692b35cb6-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=2\" rel=\"category\">Business<\/a>","tag_info":"Business","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}