Thames Water announced a major financial injection from shareholders on Monday that is keeping Britain’s largest supplier of the raw material afloat.
The company, which was reportedly at risk of renationalisation before the latest news, said shareholders have agreed to provide £750 million ($960 million) worth of further funding.
However, it falls short of the £1bn it was seeking on top of the £500m obtained from shareholders in March.
Thames Water also signaled on Monday that it would need an additional £2.5bn of support between 2025 and 2030, according to a statement.
“The additional investment announced today is the largest capital support package ever seen in the UK water sector and underscores our shareholders’ commitment to bringing Thames back to life,” added Chairman Ian Marchant.
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Canada’s Ontario Municipal pension fund is its largest shareholder with almost a third of the group.
Thames Water, which supplies 15 million homes and businesses in London and elsewhere in southern England, is nearly £14bn in debt.
Sarah Bentley resigned as CEO last month. The utility company has yet to appoint a permanent replacement.
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Adding to its troubles, a UK court last week fined Thames Water £3.3m for polluting rivers.
He pleaded guilty to pumping millions of liters of undiluted sewage into rivers near London’s Gatwick airport in 2017, killing wildlife.
Britain’s privatized water companies recently pledged to make massive investments to stop pumping raw sewage into waterways.
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Reports said water bills could rise 40 percent by 2030 to finance the works amid growing concerns about water quality and looser environmental protections after Brexit.
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