{"text":[[{"start":6.4,"text":"Thames Water’s lenders will offer a “golden share” to the UK government as part of an improved bid to take over the country’s largest water and sewerage company, seeking to avert nationalisation by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. "}],[{"start":19.85,"text":"The group of creditors, including Silver Point Capital and Elliott Management, said on Tuesday that they were still in “active discussions” with regulators and announced plans for “supervisory structures” to allow greater public control and accountability for the water company."}],[{"start":34.75,"text":"Those would include representation for local authorities and regional leaders, and a “golden share”, which would provide ministers with more oversight of key decisions, similar to that held in Royal Mail. "}],[{"start":45.85,"text":"The creditors, who have in effect been in control of the utility since shareholders walked away from the indebted group in 2024, have been trying to negotiate a deal with the regulator Ofwat to take formal ownership of the business and avert state control for more than a year."}],[{"start":62.3,"text":"The arrival of Burnham in Downing Street has cast further doubt over the future of Thames Water, which serves 16mn customers in London and surrounding areas and has been on the brink of collapse for months."}],[{"start":75.14999999999999,"text":"The government, under previous prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, had insisted it was keen on a private sector solution to Thames Water’s problems. But Burnham has called for greater public control of the utilities and has previously said that “public ownership” of Thames Water was “what should be done”."}],[{"start":92.25,"text":"The government is expected to announce whether it will temporarily renationalise Thames Water under its special administration regime (SAR) within weeks. That could spark a legal battle, with lenders appointing law firm Pallas Partners and indicating they would continue to bid for the utility once nationalised."}],[{"start":111.25,"text":"The senior creditors previously offered to inject £3.35bn of new equity into the utility and stump up £3.25bn of fresh debt. The group is also asking Ofwat to waive certain penalties until March 2030 in exchange for a one-off £800mn payment to the business. "}],[{"start":130.55,"text":"But the regulator has been unable to reach a decision on the deal, with Thames Water currently set to run out of money by October. Ofwat must submit any deal to a three-month public consultation, and the outcome must be signed off by the High Court."}],[{"start":144.35000000000002,"text":"Thames Water’s lenders on Tuesday also said that they would reinvest all profits in the business and that customer bills would not be increased beyond the rise already agreed by Ofwat between 2025 and 2030. The group of creditors, which represents holders of about £17bn of the utility’s debt, is planning a stock market listing of the business as early as 2030."}],[{"start":174.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784635061_4294.mp3"}