Thames Water has appointed Sir Adrian Montague as new chairman just days after Sarah Bentley’s sudden departure.
Sir Adrian, previously the chair of Anglian Water, will resume responsibilities on July 10, 2023, replacing Ian Marchant, who announced in April he was stepping down.
Sir Adrian currently chairs Cadent Gas, Porterbrook Holdings and Manchester Airports Group.
Following much media scrutiny over the company’s £14bn debt and concerns about the future survival of the organisation, Thames Water issued an official statement:
“You may have seen some recent press speculation about Thames Water following our CEO’s resignation.
We can confirm that Thames Water continues to operate as normal and we are committed to our turnaround plan.
From a financial point of view we have a strong liquidity position including £4.4 billion of cash and committed funding, as at 31 March 2023.
We also received £500 million of new funding from our shareholders in March 2023 and continue to work constructively with them on the funding of the next phases of our turnaround plan.
Our regulator, Ofwat, is being kept fully informed on progress of the company’s turnaround and engagement with shareholders.
Thames Water remains focused on delivering for our customers, the environment and stakeholders.”
Various Government ministers have weighed in on the issue to reassure both the public and Thames Water staff and shareholders that the situation is being closely monitored, but the situation at Thames Water has caused questions to be asked regarding the water industry’s total debt, which topped £60bn last year.
