Hong Kong bidder targets troubled Thames Water

By CITY & FINANCE REPORTER

Updated: 21:51 GMT, 21 February 2025

A major Hong Kong investor has lodged a £7bn bid to take a majority stake in Thames Water.

CK Infrastructure, part of Li Ka-Shing’s CK Hutchison conglomerate, submitted the offer earlier this month, according to the Financial Times.

The US private equity group KKR has made a separate £4billion bid for a majority stake, it emerged this week.

Thames Water also secured court approval for a £3billion lifeline to keep it afloat as it struggles under £18billion of debt. The company, which has 16m customers in London and the surrounding area and is Britain’s biggest water supplier, has become a byword for mismanagement in the water industry amid outrage over sewage leaks and burst water mains.

Leaving a bad taste: Thames Water has become a byword for mismanagement in the water industry amid outrage over sewage leaks and burst water mains

Despite public anger, it is one of six suppliers urging regulators to allow them to charge more.

So far, water regulator Ofwat has said Thames Water can increase bills by 35 per cent by 2030, less than the 53 per cent rise the company says it needs.

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Hong Kong bidder targets troubled Thames Water

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk