Latest news with #nationalisation
Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Environment Secretary steps up plans to nationalise Thames Water
The Environment Secretary has said the Government is stepping up plans to temporarily nationalise Thames Water after a US rescue bid collapsed. Steve Reed confirmed to Parliament on Thursday that ministers were ready to save the struggling utility giant if necessary. A rescue would be in the form of a taxpayer-backed special administration scheme. He said: 'The company remains financially stable, but we've stepped up our preparations and stand ready for all eventualities, as I've said before, including a special administration regime if that were to become necessary.' A government intervention appears increasingly likely after US private equity giant KKR abandoned a bid for the company. Thames's creditors have proposed an alternative £17bn rescue plan but it is contingent on regulators agreeing to waive historical fines. They have been pushing for ministers to intervene on the matter. Mr Reed signalled this would not happen, casting doubt over hopes of a private sector-led solution. He said: 'Thames Water must meet its statutory and regulatory obligations to their customers and to the environment. It is only right that the company is subject to the same consequences as any other water company.' Taking control of Thames would pile further strain on the Government's stretched finances. A previous report estimated that a state bailout would cost the taxpayer up to £4.1bn. Thames, which has 16m customers across London and the South East, has been pushed to the brink of collapse as it struggles under the weight of £16bn in debts. Creditors have said that a 'regulatory reset' is needed to ensure the company is financially viable. A source close to the lenders said they were urging regulators 'not to reach back into history' and instead focus on Thames Water's turnaround efforts moving forward. A senior figure involved in the talks told The Telegraph last week: 'I think what it takes is the Government and the regulator coming together – it needs the Environment Department, the Treasury, and even No 10 to say, 'What's the least worst outcome here?'' Thames Water was handed a record fine of £123m in May and the company could be on the hook for more than £1bn in pollution and environmental failing penalties in future, according to creditors. The £17bn support package proposed by creditors includes writing off several billion pounds of debt and an immediate £3bn cash injection. If their deal falls apart, special administration is the most likely outcome for Thames. A spokesman for the creditors said: 'This investor group is committed to working with the Government and regulators to agree a pragmatic plan that recognises what Thames Water can realistically deliver and they expect to be held accountable for an ambitious trajectory for the company's return to compliance. 'More than £10bn would be written off to get the company back to investment grade, expected to be the largest financial loss on an infrastructure asset in British history.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Environment Secretary steps up plans to nationalise Thames Water
The Environment Secretary has said the Government is stepping up plans to temporarily nationalise Thames Water after a US rescue bid collapsed. Steve Reed confirmed to Parliament on Thursday that ministers were ready to save the struggling utility giant if necessary. A rescue would be in the form of a taxpayer-backed special administration scheme. He said: 'The company remains financially stable, but we've stepped up our preparations and stand ready for all eventualities, as I've said before, including a special administration regime if that were to become necessary.' A government intervention appears increasingly likely after US private equity giant KKR abandoned a bid for the company. Thames's creditors have proposed an alternative £17bn rescue plan but it is contingent on regulators agreeing to waive historical fines. They have been pushing for ministers to intervene on the matter. Mr Reed signalled this would not happen, casting doubt over hopes of a private sector-led solution. He said: 'Thames Water must meet its statutory and regulatory obligations to their customers and to the environment. It is only right that the company is subject to the same consequences as any other water company.' Taking control of Thames would pile further strain on the Government's stretched finances. A previous report estimated that a state bailout would cost the taxpayer up to £4.1bn. Thames, which has 16m customers across London and the South East, has been pushed to the brink of collapse as it struggles under the weight of £16bn in debts. Creditors have said that a 'regulatory reset' is needed to ensure the company is financially viable. A source close to the lenders said they were urging regulators 'not to reach back into history' and instead focus on Thames Water's turnaround efforts moving forward. A senior figure involved in the talks told The Telegraph last week: 'I think what it takes is the Government and the regulator coming together – it needs the Environment Department, the Treasury, and even No 10 to say, 'What's the least worst outcome here?'' Thames Water was handed a record fine of £123m in May and the company could be on the hook for more than £1bn in pollution and environmental failing penalties in future, according to creditors. The £17bn support package proposed by creditors includes writing off several billion pounds of debt and an immediate £3bn cash injection. If their deal falls apart, special administration is the most likely outcome for Thames. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Ministers stepping up preparations for renationalisation of Thames Water
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, has said the government is stepping up preparations for temporary nationalisation of Thames Water, indicating it will reject pleas from the company's creditors for leniency from fines and penalties. Thames Water's largest creditors control the utility, and have made a bid to cut some of its debts and provide £5.3bn in new funding to try to turn it around. However, the creditors have said their plan needs considerable leniency from Ofwat, the government's water regulator for England and Wales, and the Environment Agency over fines for environmental failings. The Guardian this month revealed that the creditors had asked for immunity from prosecution for serious environmental crimes in return for taking on the company. Reed on Thursday told parliament that Thames Water must meet its statutory obligations, after being asked about possible 'regulatory easements'. 'Thames Water must meet its statutory and regulatory obligations to their customers and to the environment,' he said. 'It is only right that the company is subject to the same consequences as any other water company. 'The company remains financially stable, but we've stepped up our preparations and stand ready for all eventualities, as I've said before, including special administration regime if that were to become necessary.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion More details soon …
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Reform is Corbynism with a flag: the Tories stand for economic freedom
I confess I shudder every time I hear that word. Yet politicians from Keir Starmer to Nigel Farage are now gleefully chanting 'nationalisation!' as a solution to every economic challenge in the utterly deluded belief that the answer to our problems is getting civil servants to take control of business. The Conservative Party knows that the state is already too big, much too slow, and doing far too much and doing it badly. Some of that happened under previous Conservative governments. It's my job to fix this and to ensure that those mistakes are never repeated. The solution isn't more government, it's smarter government, better government – and that means getting out of the way of private enterprise. Growth comes from business, from the risk-takers, from the people who devote their time, money and energy to building things. It doesn't come from the politicians sat in offices dreaming up new ways to spend your taxes. Yet that is now the way Starmer and Farage are talking about economic growth. Let's start with oil and gas. As many as 10,000 jobs have been lost in this sector recently. According to Offshore Energies UK, capital investment in our domestic industry is set to collapse from £14.1 billion to £2.3 billion in just four years. The business environment is not friendly and not competitive. But what is Reform's answer? Give the Government a stake in new oil and gas fields. Labour's? Hike the so-called 'windfall tax' and make it permanent. Both will scare off serious investors. On Friday I called on the Labour Government to scrap the windfall tax on North Sea producers. The windfall is gone, but the tax is still there, strangling investment and killing jobs and growth. I am proposing a solution that puts business and workers first. But naturally Labour criticised it. The same fantasy economics is playing out in steel. British Steel in Scunthorpe is haemorrhaging money – losing nearly £1 million a day. Labour's answer is to nationalise it. Reform's is to do the same, but with even more gusto! When the Port Talbot steelworks faced a similar crisis, I worked with a private company – Tata Steel – to find a solution that made economic sense and secured a future for the community in South Wales. Because unlike Starmer and Farage, I know to be successful a business doesn't need politicians telling it how to operate. It needs politicians who will listen to what those who do the job says works. The Labour government started taking us backwards last year – sneaking through rail nationalisation, hoping voters had forgotten the British Rail disaster. It's not just farcical that the first nationalised train ended up being a replacement bus service, it's a warning of what's to come. And after oil, steel and rail, the next on their list is water. The drumbeat to nationalise Thames Water is getting louder. But the answer isn't to send civil servants in. The answer is to create a climate where investment flows in rather than out. That means protecting the profit motive, not punishing it. Everyone knows we Conservatives have a battle on our hands. Reform pretends to be a Right-wing party, but economically Reform is Corbynism with a flag: more benefits, more subsidies, more central planning, more control. It is socialism that is dressed up as patriotism. Under Labour, business taxes are at record highs. The Trade unions are running everything from education to business policy – hence the Employment Rights Bill that effectively makes everyone a union member unless they choose to opt out of it. The public sector is getting inflation-busting pay rises, while the private sector (the source of economic growth) is getting squeezed. It should tell you all you need to know that 10,000 entrepreneurs have already fled the country since Starmer took over last year. Reform and Labour both want to grow the state. Under my leadership the Conservatives will prioritise growing opportunity and prosperity. Margaret Thatcher once said progress comes from the 'inventiveness, ability, determination and the pioneering spirit' of ordinary people. She was right then and she's right now. The Conservative Party is not here to run your business, or burden you with endless taxes and pointless regulation. We are the last line of defence for economic freedom, and we will stop the other parties from taking away what belongs to you.
Telegraph
11-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Rail challenger to take on Labour's nationalised trains
Private train operator Lumo is plotting a range of new services across Britain in a direct challenge to Labour's nationalised rail network. FirstGroup, which owns the low-cost rail company, is looking to expand operations after already announcing plans to triple Lumo's passenger count to 10m a year with the addition of five new routes. Graham Sutherland, the chief executive, said FirstGroup is now studying population growth and housebuilding plans to determine where is best to introduce new routes. However, he said the company is particularly keen to restore direct services to London from small towns across the UK, while it is also exploring the possibility of launching trains between poorly connected regional centres. He said: 'Obviously it gets harder the further you get through it, but we feel there are other opportunities still to come out over time. 'Anything we are looking at is commercially sensitive. But the basic criteria is do we think there are under-served areas in terms of rail and do we have an opportunity to drive modal shift and get people out of their cars.'
