Thames Water is the largest water supplier in the UK, serving over 15 million customers in London and the Thames Valley. But despite its size and profitability, the company is also heavily in debt. As of March 2023, Thames Water's debt stood at £14.3 billion, which is almost a quarter of the total debt of all the privatised water companies in England and Wales.
So how did Thames Water end up in so much debt?
There are a number of factors, but one of the main reasons is that the company has been aggressively borrowing money in order to pay dividends to shareholders. In the past decade, Thames Water has paid out over £10 billion in dividends, which is more than it has spent on investment in its infrastructure.
This strategy of prioritizing dividends over investment has led to a decline in the quality of Thames Water's infrastructure. The company has been fined multiple times for water quality violations, and it has been forced to undertake a number of emergency repairs to its ageing pipes.
The debt burden is also making it difficult for Thames Water to invest in its infrastructure. The company has said that it needs to invest £15 billion over the next decade in order to maintain its infrastructure and meet future demand. However, with so much debt, it is unclear how Thames Water will be able to afford these investments.
In other words, it's fucked!
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