Sign up for our breaking news emails to get real-time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox for free
Sign up for free breaking news emails
Thames Water is reportedly drawing up an updated business plan to be published within days as the troubled water company continues to scramble to raise funds to stay afloat.
The company, the UK's largest water company serving 16 million customers, is reportedly developing a revised five-year spending plan.
Board members are scheduled to meet to approve the plan on Thursday, and executives hope to make the plan public on Friday, Bloomberg reports.
In its original business plan, first published in October, the company said it wanted to increase customer bills by 40% to fund an investment program worth £18.7bn.
But the paper said water regulator Ofwat had imposed restrictions on the scheme, making it “uninvestable”.
This meant the funding crisis facing Thames Water deepened as investors withdrew a £500m emergency funding package that was due to be paid out at the end of April.
Additionally, Thames Water's holding company, Kemble Water Finance Limited, told creditors earlier this month that it had defaulted on some of its debt by failing to make interest payments.
Thames Water is reportedly preparing to approach lenders to fund its spending plans, meaning it could receive new financing.
The company, which already has net debt of nearly £15bn, has come under intense scrutiny after failing to meet targets for sewage spills and leaks.
We need the cash funding to advance our turnaround plan to meet our customer, environmental and other shareholder performance objectives over the next several years.
Ofwat is currently reviewing the plans and is expected to publish a draft response in June.
Thames Water has previously stressed that despite the financial difficulties, it continues to be “business as usual” for its suppliers.
The company declined to comment on the latest reports.
