Bucking under the weight of its debt, Britain's largest water utility Thames Water was under the threat of nationalisation before its shareholders stepped in on Monday to help plug a financial black hole.
Thames Water had amassed a debt pile of 14 billion pounds , casting a shadow over the entire sector, which needs to upgrade. Assured Guaranty has built about $1.9 billion in exposure to Thames Water, with Southern Water being its largest non-U.S. exposure at $2.2 billion, the FT said, citing results published in March.
However, a senior managing director at Assured Guaranty told the FT that the insurer feels these water companies have a strong debt profile. "We feel the UK water company debt we have insured has a strong credit profile, as it provides an essential public service and is in a well-regulated industry where we guarantee the senior level debt," the newspaper quoted manager Nick Proud as saying.Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips