Thames Water

Parent Company: Kemble Water Ltd *

Regulated utility: Thames Water Utilities Ltd

Kemble Water is ultimately owned by Macquarie Bank and other Macquarie-managed funds plus some long term investors principally pension funds

Thames Water is one of the largest water utilities in the UK and certainly the best known. It was acquired by RWE, the German energy company in 2001. Under their ownership, the company continued its international growth strategy, becoming the third biggest water company in the world with 70 million customers in 46 countries.. Now the UK company has been sold by RWE to a consortium led by the Australian Macquarie Bank and Thames Water consequently has no international activities.

Macquarie Bank, in a bidding war, paid a high price for Thames of about 1.3 times the asset value – a business value of £8 billion. This has led to a complete change around in strategy as the company refocuses on its core water and wastewater market in London and the south east. With a couple of exceptions all the other activities have now been or are being divested.

Thames faces huge problems with the leaky water network, shortage of water supplies and concerns over pollution of the Thames. This is compounded by the difficulties of replacing infrastructure in a capital city and the drain on resources that the Olympics will cause. The Government has just sanctioned the huge (£1.6 billion) Thames Tideway project and other major projects such as a desalination plant and refurbishment of Beckton, Mogden and Crossness Sewage treatment plants as well a major new reservoir are planned.

	Amount
Turnover	£1393 m
Profit	245.1 m

Data for the regulated UK water business only

	Amount
Area served	13 328 km2
Population -Water -Waste water	8.1 million 13.1 million
Water -Water supplied a day -Length water mains -Water treatment works	2765 Ml 31 387 km 98
Sewerage -Length of sewers -Waste water treatment works -Sludge produced	65 929 km 351 250 000 te's dry

Address

Thames Water
14 Cavendish Place
London
W1M 0NU

Tel: 020 7636 8686

Non-regulated business

Thames Water has significamt business outside of its regulated core. In the UK it has won several PFI contracts with what was West of Scotland Water and is now Scottish Water. It is as a key partner in Sterling Water. It also owns some wastewater product related businesses such as Simon Hartley.

Web site: www.thames-water.com

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