Thames Water’s creditors have revealed plans to appoint former business secretary Lord John Hutton as an independent chair of the water supplier if their rescue bid is given the green light.
The London & Valley Water consortium (L&VW) — a group of the utility’s lenders — announced on 20 October that Lord Hutton has been selected as independent chair designate of the proposed new, strengthened board of Thames Water Utilities Limited, should L&VW’s proposed acquisition and recapitalisation of Thames Water proceed.
Subject to L&VW’s proposals and its Performance Improvement and Turnaround Plan being taken forward, and the completion of Ofwat’s onboarding process for board directors, Lord Hutton would join the board as independent chair. He would take on responsibility for overseeing Thames Water’s 10-year turnaround and comprehensive transformation in the interest of customers, the public and the environment, working closely with the management team.
“People living in London and the Thames Valley have the right to expect the highest possible standards of customer service and proper environmental stewardship from their water company, and that will be our focus as we look to the future,” Lord Hutton said.
Lord Hutton brings substantial experience in public policy, energy regulated sectors and public-private infrastructure delivery. After leaving public office, he led the landmark 2011 Independent Public Service Pensions Commission, and subsequently chaired major industry bodies including the Nuclear Industry Association, Energy UK and manufacturing association Make UK.
He has held key board and advisory positions across the energy, defence and infrastructure sectors, including chair of the Association of Infrastructure Investors, chair of London Luton Airport and non-executive director of Scottish Power Energy Networks.
Before that, Lord Hutton served as MP for Barrow and Furness from 1992 to 2010, holding several Cabinet positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown — including Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and Secretary of State for Defence.
The appointment announcement comes two months after the consortium said it would name four new directors to the Thames Water board if its bid succeeded — including former Yorkshire Water chief executive Liz Barber, Dame Bernadette Kelly, the former permanent secretary at the Department for Transport, and Clive Selley, ex-chief executive of BT Openreach.
The consortium — which includes UK and US investment companies such as Elliott Management and Apollo Global Management — previously said it was looking at offering a “golden share” to the government as part of a revised rescue deal.
The development comes as the future of Thames Water, which serves around 16 million customers across London and the South East, remains one of the biggest unresolved questions in British business. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has signalled he wants to bring in a 10-year plan to renationalise the water industry, saying reform is needed to put the public interest first.
The government has said in the past it would prefer a “market solution” for Thames Water. However, the influential Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of MPs said last month it believes the potential takeover by lenders should be rejected.
The appointment of a heavyweight chair designate suggests the creditors’ consortium is serious about pushing its plan through — and that the battle over Britain’s biggest water company is far from over.
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