Thames Water logged 12 qualifying events in the UK in the last 90 days, from 7 July to 5 October 2026, across four classes, with M&A activity and restructuring the most frequent. On 15 July the company said its funding ran only until October 2026 unless creditors provided more (Evening Standard Business).
Creditors moved first. On 18 July Apollo Global Management, Elliott Management, Farallon Capital and Silver Point Capital, holding £17bn of £21bn debt, were negotiating with the government and preparing a contingency legal strategy (City AM). On 22 July their London & Valley Water consortium offered a £9.4bn debt write-down and a £3.35bn equity injection, with a dividend ban until 2035 (City AM).
On 24 August the consortium named four board appointments, conditional on its takeover (City AM). On 25 August the government paused special administration because of a projected £2bn to £4.1bn cost to taxpayers (City AM). On 18 September MPs said the £10bn bondholder takeover was not in the best interests of customers or the environment (GlobeNewswire).
On 10 August the company paid a new chief financial officer a £1m signing fee and agreed retention payouts while carrying over £20bn in debt (The Guardian Business, South China Morning Post). On 1 October it shortlisted three consortiums, Balfour Beatty with BBV-Vinci among them, for the £5.7bn White Horse Reservoir contract in Oxfordshire (Construction News).