New Thames Water chief vows to ‘restore confidence’ amid debt crunch

Utility giant faces questions over whether shareholders will inject an extra £750m

Thames Water has hired a new chief executive after months of turmoil at Britain’s biggest water supplier.
Chris Weston has vowed to “restore confidence” in the business, as he prepares to take over from acting co-chief executives Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran on January 8.
It follows the abrupt departure of ex-boss Sarah Bentley in the summer, which triggered fears that the company was on the verge of collapse.
Mr Weston is a former member of the army who has worked as an executive at British Gas owner Centrica. 
He was also formerly chief executive of power supplier Aggreko when the company was sold to private equity for £2.3bn in 2021.
His appointment at Thames comes as the utility giant battles a debt pile that has roiled its finances, with question marks still hanging over whether shareholders will inject an extra £750m in funding.
On Wednesday, Thames Water told MPs that its holding company did not currently have enough money to pay back debts ahead of a looming deadline in April.
The UK’s largest water supplier has £1.4bn of external debt maturing over the coming years, including a £190m repayment due in April 2024.
The company is in talks with lenders about pushing back the deadline until Ofwat, the water regulator, publishes a pricing review for 2024. 
Mr Cochran told MPs: “Our proposition to the lenders is going to be, ‘Please will you extend the maturity because everything about Thames Water will be much clearer from a financial perspective after we have received Ofwat’s determination.’”
Following his appointment, Mr Weston said: “Working with the team I will be focused on delivering the turnaround that the business has outlined and improving performance over the next few years.
“I recognise that this business is critical to both society and the UK and how important it is that we restore confidence in our operations and financial position.”
The Telegraph revealed last weekend that Thames Water had abandoned its net zero plans for 2030 amid mounting pressure on its finances. Instead, it said it will focus on improving its sewage pollution performance.
Thames Water said the changes “do not change our desire to achieve net zero”. 
A spokesman said: “We’re rephasing our original pledge to reduce our operational emissions to net zero by 2030.”