Business news live – Thames Water creditors submit rescue plan to prevent administration

One of the long-term plans for the restructuring of Thames Water is for it to return to the stock market in an eventual float.

That’s noted in the creditors’ plan as the eventual goal, once the turnaround is completed and the firm becomes a viable concern again financially.

Thames Water’s gross debt would come down from over £20bn to £14.5bn, but smaller creditors (class B) would receive nothing in return for almost £1bn in loans.

There is a notional 22 October deadline but the Times report this is unlikely to be a meaningful one.

Part of the plan submitted by the creditors concerns how much they will spend on improving infrastructure.

That capital expenditure is split into two sections: the five years through to 2030 deemed a catch-up period, and the five years thereafter.

A total of £20.5bn of investment is to come in that first five years with a further £24.9bn afterward.

A group of Thames Water lenders has put forward a new rescue deal for the struggling supplier pledging an extra £1 billion in investment, and plans to write off around a third of the firm’s near-£20 billion debt pile.

London & Valley Water – a consortium of the supplier’s main creditors, including investors and financial institutions – said its offer was “more ambitious, delivers greater value for customers and follows three months of discussion with and feedback from Ofwat” to help turn around Thames Water.

The group said its extra £1 billion of investment, on top of the proposal submitted in May, would “ensure long-term financial resilience” and cover existing fines Thames Water must pay for regulatory and pollution failures.

Today sees London & Valley Water – the group of firms who hold a lot of the debt of Thames Water – put forward new proposals to Ofwat.

The headline figures included are £4bn of debt written off by class A investors, compared with their earlier offer of £3.2bn.

No dividends are to be paid out during the turnaround period, and in return for the writedowns they are seeking renegotiated targets for pollution incidents and leakage.

Mike McTighe, who would be the future chair of Thames if the plans are greenlighted, said:

“There is a huge amount of work to be done to turn around Thames Water and deliver the improved service and environmental outcomes that customers and local communities deserve.

“From day one, we will inject billions in new investment, strengthen Thames Water’s balance sheet, transform the company for thousands of hard-working frontline staff and begin the delivery of an operational turnaround that puts 16 million customers and the environment first.”

Morning all – as usual, plenty to get through this morning.

Key names featuring include Tescos, Greggs, Elon Musk and…David Beckham. Why not?

We’ll start with Thames Water though and try to unravel some of the latest mess.