Thames water is due to go into administration if it does not receive an injection of funds
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00:00Thames Water Utilities Holding Limited, the parent company of Thames Water Group, England's
00:07largest water company, is set to run out of cash by March 24th and risks entering special
00:14administration if a judge does not approve its plans to inject £3bn to keep it afloat.
00:21The company has been struggling for a very long time and has accumulated unimaginable
00:26levels of debt over the last few years. It could be described as the backbone of water
00:31supply and treatment in the capital. But the company is in about £16bn of debt and needs
00:39£3.3bn over the next five years to keep running, with a restructuring bid marking an attempt
00:47to shore up its finances without a bailout from investors. Thames Water has also been
00:53at the centre of growing public outrage over the extent of pollution, rising bills, high
00:58dividends and executive bonuses at the UK's privatised water firms. The scheme is to inject
01:06more and more money into the company, known as the so-called Company Plan. This is supported
01:13by the majority of the utility's leading creditors and is being considered over a four-day hearing
01:19here in London at the moment. Tom Smith, the King's Council for Thames Water Group, previously
01:26told the court that the group's finances had deteriorated because of several factors, including
01:33operating with the oldest water pipes on average in the country and operating in an area where
01:41a larger proportion of properties have a basement.