Following the announcement from Thames Water, Ofwat’s full statement is as follows:
An Ofwat spokesperson said: “Safeguards are in place to ensure that services to customers are protected regardless of issues faced by shareholders of Thames Water.
“Today’s update from Thames Water means the company must now pursue all options to seek further equity for the business to turn around the performance of the company for customers. Thames Water is a business with a regulatory capital value of £19 billion, with £2.4 billion of liquidity available, and an annual regulated revenue of £2 billon and new leadership team.
“Ofwat’s PR24 price control will put customer and environmental priorities at the heart of the water sector. In order to drive this change, we need to ensure that the sector attracts investment and is fair to bill payers. Since 2020 nearly £4.6 billion new equity has been injected into the sector. We will set out our draft determinations in June this year.
“We also need to see companies deliver the performance that customers expect and that they are run in a way that meets customers’ expectations.”