The UK Government has implemented changes to water company insolvency laws.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs issued legislation to modernise the existing three-decade-old special administration regime, aiming to provide special administrators with more flexibility in restructuring companies unable to meet their debt obligations.
This comes in response to increasing concerns about the financial health of privatised water monopolies, particularly Thames Water, the largest among them.
Currently owned by private equity firms, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, Thames Water provides water and sewerage services to about 25% of the UK population.
However, the company is struggling with a £18.3 billion group debt burden, prompting concerns about its overall financial stability.
