Another update from embattled Thames Water: the UK’s biggest water company warned this morning that it will run out of cash by the end of March without an emergency debt deal.
It said all its funds may be “exhausted” if it fails to secure court approval for a £3bn financial lifeline. This would mean that it could be nationalised, at least temporarily.
There are two critical court dates, on 17 December and 20 January, to secure approval for the funds, which some creditors have already agreed to lend it. This would give Thames Water enough funds to keep going until next October.
The update on its finances comes at a critical time for the utility, which is struggling under a £19bn debt pile and supplies 16 million customers across London and the Thames Valley.
The Thames chief executive, Chris Weston, said: "Today’s news demonstrates further progress to put Thames Water onto a more stable financial footing as we seek a long-term solution to our financial resilience."
Investors have expressed interest in taking a new stake in the business. However, they are still trying to find out what terms they might win from the beleaguered company, the UK government, and water regulator, Ofwat, if they provide billions of new equity funding.One bidder is Covalis Capital, a UK infrastructure investor, with advice from French water contractor Suez. It has offered a £1bn upfront injection of cash with a further £4bn raised from breaking up and selling off parts of Thames before listing the remaining operation.
FTSE 100-listed Ashtead Group, the £28bn equipment hire company, said it intends to move its listing to New York from London, in the latest blow to the UK stock market.
The company was founded in the UK in 1947 and has been part of the London Stock Exchange since 1986, but embarked on a series of US acquisitions from the early 2000s.It argued that the US is its “natural” home, saying: "Ashtead is substantially a US business, reporting in US dollars, with almost all the group’s operating profit derived from North America, which is also the core growth market for the business.
"The group’s executive management team and operational headquarters are based in the US and the vast majority of the group’s employees reside in North America."
It will seek approval from shareholders for a move to a US primary listing at a general meeting, and expects the move will happen over the next 12-18 months.
The planned departure follows similar moves earlier this year by Paddy Power and the Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment.
The agenda
• 9.30am GMT: Bloomberg Women, Money, Power conference
• 9:45am GMT: UK Treasury committee hearing: FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi and chair Ashley Adler to discuss work of regulator
• 10am GMT: Italian industrial production for October
We'll be tracking all the main events throughout the day … |
