Thames Water’s parent company Kemble’s defaulted bonds have plummeted to an all-time low of just 5.8 pence in the pound, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Kemble’s debt was already heavily discounted after defaulting on £400 million of bonds in April, but recent turmoil on the board of directors showed there was further room to fall.
Thames Water’s largest shareholder Omers Infrastructure withdrew its board representative last week, with more board members quitting this week.
Omers fully wrote down its 31.7% stake in Kemble, calling the utility “worthless” and “uninvestable”.
Thames Waters’ complex web of parent organisations has an estimated £16 billion debt pile on the books, leading to intensifying calls to nationalise the utility.
Such a move, under a blueprint codenamed Project Timber, would transfer this debt onto the public purse, allowing the sole provider of water services to London and the southeast of England to operate as a ‘publicly owned arm’s-length body’.