Iain Coucher, Ofwat Chairman has written to Emma Reynolds MP Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs saying the economic regulator shares the concerns expressed by the Minister in her letter of 16 June 2026 regarding the London and Valley Water Consortium’s proposal for the recapitalisation and turnaround of Thames Water.
In a letter dated 10 July copied across to David Burlison at L&VW and the Chair and CEO of Thames Water (Sir Adrian Montague and Chris Weston, Coucher writes:
“We share the concerns that were raised in your letter. We have relayed our concerns, including in areas that go beyond those identified in your letter, with L&VW as part of our ongoing engagement on their proposal and over a period of some months.”
According to the Ofwat Chair, L&VW is working on a revised proposal through Defra led engagement with the company, consortium and Ofwat.
While this process continues, he explains Ofwat is continuing to monitor and to hold the Thames Water to account for meeting its obligations and commitments to customers and the environment, and in meeting the requirements and objectives of the undertakings it gave to Ofwat in August 2024.
“The company needs to be able to deliver the significant investment and operational improvements required to address its performance issues and financial resilience on a sustainable basis,” Coucher says, concluding his letter by saying that he would “welcome the opportunity” to meet with the Minister to discuss the issues surrounding the L&VW proposal.
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