United Kingdom: "The cream of the crop of investment funds that have successively invested in Thames Water's capital have not emerged from the British water operator's fiasco in a positive light."

Will the English be able to water their immaculate lawns this summer? Not everyone is sure. Chris Weston, the chief executive of Thames Water, which supplies 16 million customers in London and the Thames Valley, told MPs on Tuesday, May 13, that he could not rule out restrictions in the coming weeks. This is the result of insufficient reserves in a region experiencing its driest start to spring in sixty years. But that's not all.

The deplorable state of Thames Water's networks is exacerbating water stress. According to its own calculations, by 2024, the equivalent of 230 Olympic-sized swimming pools would be leaking from its 32,000 kilometers of pipes every day. However, the operator, on the verge of bankruptcy, lacks the means to finance an upgrade of its network, part of which dates back to the Victorian era.

When Thames Water was privatized in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher, the company carried no debt. It now stands at £19 billion (€22.6 billion). What was this money used for? Given the repeated leaks and wastewater pollution, the British suspect that more of it went to shareholders than to network upgrades. The cream of the crop of investment funds, including Australia's Macquarie, which have successively acquired Thames Water's capital, have not come out of it any better.

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