Thames Water defers payment of controversial £2.5m retention awards

Thames Water has opted not to wage much than £2m successful retention awards to much than 20 of its apical executives this period amid a governmental outcry implicit the payments.

Sky News has learnt that the embattled utility's remuneration committee has decided to defer astir £2.46m successful payouts until further announcement pursuing deliberations among directors successful caller days.

The determination not to permanently cancel oregon to manus implicit the awards risks being labelled a fudge by critics of the company, but avoids the anticipation of a pre-Christmas bonus enactment arsenic Thames Water races to finalise a multibillion lb rescue led by its largest radical of creditors.

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Sources that the authorities and Ofwat, the h2o manufacture regulator, had been notified of the bonus determination this week.

The £2.46m payouts, which person attracted fierce scrutiny from the Commons environment, nutrient and agrarian affairs prime committee, travel a akin outgo which was made earlier this year.

A larger grant of astir £13.5m is owed to beryllium made nether the retention strategy docket during the people of 2026.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the prime committee, told The Daily Telegraph aft Sky News had revealed the Thames Water committee discussions: "Given the perilous authorities of Thames Water's finances, for a remuneration committee to grant bonuses to already well-paid executives would beryllium an outrage."

Mr Carmichael wrote to Sir Adrian past period demanding to cognize by December 1 whether the wealth would beryllium handed out.

Chris Weston, Thames Water's main executive, is already the taxable of a bonus 'ban' imposed by the regulator, Ofwat, nether caller rules preventing payouts astatine h2o companies which are failing to conscionable environmental, fiscal resilience oregon user standards.

He is not among the 21 executives eligible for the retention payments.

Thames Water's endurance conflict volition proceed until good into adjacent twelvemonth arsenic it seeks Ofwat's support for a woody that volition impact creditors injecting astir £5bn into the business.

They would besides constitute disconnected billions of pounds successful indebtedness they are owed successful instrumentality for greater leniency from regulators implicit aboriginal biology penalties and targets.

Without an agreement, Thames Water would efficaciously beryllium nationalised done a process called a Special Administration Regime.

Sky News revealed during the summertime that the authorities was lining up FTI Consulting to gully up contingency plans for specified an outcome.

On Tuesday, Thames Water declined to remark connected the retention awards decision.