Business & Finance

Thames Water creditor consortium proposes board overhaul in £10bn rescue bid

Lenders holding £17bn of the utility's debt named new executive candidates to help avert public control, drawing criticism from campaigners.

Updated Aug 24, 2026 · 11:42 UTC1 reports

The short version

London & Valley Water, a group representing major Thames Water lenders, proposed a board overhaul led by incoming chair Mike McTighe to support its £10bn recapitalisation plan.
The restructuring aims to prevent the company from being placed into a special administration regime, which would amount to temporary public control.
Critics from campaign groups termed the board reshuffle insufficient, while the government continues to consider options for increased oversight of the utility.

London & Valley Water (L&VW), a consortium of institutional investors holding £17bn of Thames Water's £21bn debt, proposed a new board structure as part of a £10bn recapitalisation plan.[The Guardian]
The proposed leadership team includes Mike McTighe as chair, along with proposed directors Liz Barber, Clive Selley, and Dame Bernadette Kelly.[The Guardian]
The creditor group includes fund managers Apollo Global Management, Elliott Management, Farallon Capital Management, and Silver Point Capital.[The Guardian]
L&VW engaged legal firms Pallas Partners and Akin Gump to prepare for potential legal proceedings if the utility is nationalised.[The Guardian]
Cat Hobbs, director of the public ownership campaign group We Own It, described the proposed board changes as an absurd 'cosy stitch-up'.[The Guardian]

Whether the UK government and regulators will accept the creditors' recapitalisation plan or place Thames Water into a special administration regime remains undecided.[The Guardian]
Thames Water claimed placing the company under a special administration regime would cost taxpayers £2bn, though this figure has not been independently verified.[The Guardian]