Treasury seeks clarity on cost of Thames Water renationalisation

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The Treasury is seeking more clarity on the cost of re -educating the Times water before the decisive court ruling this week, which may decide the future of the largest water supplier in Britain.
The Times Water, which provides water and sewage services for about a quarter of the UK population, is on the edge of a knife, with a The main decision On Tuesday about whether the judge will approve an emergency loan of 3 billion pounds from creditors to buy the time of the debt tool to raise shares and restructure his financial resources.
If the judges reject the plan, Times water It is widely expected to be coordinated in the Special Management System, which is an unprecedented temporary reshaping for a water company.
The Ministry of Treasury seeks to clarity on SAR effect In government resources before the spring statement at the end of March, two sources close to the operation said.
The spring statement will include “economic and financial expectations” offered by the budget responsibility office, which is expected to appear a deterioration in public financial affairs.
People familiar with the situation indicated that the government was hate to clarify the potential costs of Entering the Times water Because it opposes the re -design. It is worrying that SAR has a domino effect on other debt water companies and that some of the work deputies may argue that the utility remains permanently. It is also concerned about the impact on the government’s public budget, even if it is short -term, from the utility tool Infrastructure accumulation.
But Tom Astle, the global restructuring head of the law firm Hogan Luvils, said that the tool should continue to run and receive income from customers under SAR and Themes could be a “positive cash flow in that window.”
He added that debt payments will be frozen, which will liberate additional money, and perhaps for operational improvements and investment in infrastructure.
“Although the government may need to provide a type of temporary financing for the Times water, if no special provider does, it is likely to be paid first in any company’s restructuring either during the sale of business to new investors,” he said.
Payment for greater clarity on the costs follows the government’s criticism and the regulator earlier this month by the judge who heads the court session if a loan should be approved 3 billion pounds.
Mr. JUSTICE League said that the lack of participation in the OWAT and government procedures It was “unfortunate”.
It holds a loan of 3 billion pounds from Category A, which includes the American hedge funds Elliott Management and Silver Point, 9.75 percent interest rate, As well as drawings. A different group of creditors, who lose almost all of their money under the deal, and gave their loan a little cheaper.
Liberal Democratic Representative Charlie Mainard, represented by William Day, a lawyer who behaved Bono, opposed the loan in court on the basis that he was not in the interest of the Times Water agents 16 million. Mainard says that a third of the emergency loan revenues will reach the tool after payments and other costs. The company burns 15 million pounds per month on legal and consulting fees.
Friday, the Times Water said it was Planning to appeal To the authority of competition and the market for higher price increases for customers, although annual bills are already scheduled to rise by a third to 639 pounds for each family in April. Half of the creditors’ loan worth 3 billion pounds was conditional on the CMA challenge and still needed to fully agree with the lenders.
A government spokesman said: “The company is still stable and a responsible government, we are ready for a set of scenarios in our organized industries,” a government spokesman said.
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2025-02-17 05:00:00