Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston has insisted that his 14% pay rise to almost £1 million is “absolutely deserved,” even as the debt-laden company faces a potential taxpayer rescue and mounting customer anger. The company’s annual report revealed that Weston’s salary increased from £869,000 to £995,000 from April 1, 2026.
Pay Rise Amidst Crisis
The inflation-busting leap came despite Thames Water being fined for missing pollution targets, average bills soaring by nearly a third last year, and customer complaints rocketing by 77%. When asked about his pay rise, Weston said: “(The board) offered it to me. I accepted. I absolutely think the pay rise is deserved.”
The former British Gas executive added: “At Thames, we have to attract the right quality of talent and experience to be able to run and lead a company in an extremely difficult situation.”
Weston’s total pay and perks package for the last year included more than £100,000 towards his pension, a car allowance of £15,000, private medical insurance worth almost £2,600, and £57,244 for unused annual leave. The 62-year-old was previously filmed watching cricket during a BBC documentary.
Financial Struggles and Debt Mountain
Thames Water revealed it only has enough funds to survive until the end of this year as its debt mountain ballooned from £17.7 billion to nearly £20 billion. On a positive note, the company swung from a £1.65 billion loss to a £226.4 million profit. Britain’s biggest water company is battling to secure a rescue deal with its creditors.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds warned last month that she did not believe the plan to relieve the stricken utility goes far enough to protect customers or the environment. PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham has also suggested Thames Water should be nationalised.
Chairman’s Stance and Political Reactions
Thames Chairman Sir Adrian Montague insisted: “We remain of the view that a market-led solution is the fastest route to delivering improvements in customer service, environmental performance and long-term resilience, and we continue to progress on that basis.” However, he admitted “the process has taken far longer than any of us had anticipated.”
Sir Adrian added: “With a new Prime Minister and Cabinet in prospect, we will seek to pursue a speedy dialogue to resolve current uncertainties.”
Thames Water supplies 2.6 billion litres of water every day to 16 million customers. It received 122,798 complaints last year, up 77%. Billing complaints doubled to almost 96,300, while metering complaints surged by 126%.
Environmental Performance and Future Outlook
The company recorded 386 pollution incidents in 2025, an 18% reduction from 470 in 2024, and serious pollution incidents fell by 27%, from 33 to 24. Despite this, it missed regulatory targets for both. Thames insisted it could survive for another 12 months but admitted there was “material uncertainty” over its long-term future.
Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron said: “Thames Water is failing, and balancing its books on the backs of hard-pressed bill payers - all while paying huge amounts of interest and continuing to dump toxic sewage into our precious waterways. The whole system is fundamentally broken. If Andy Burnham wants to prove he is serious about cleaning up our broken water industry, he needs to heed Liberal Democrat calls to immediately place Thames Water into a Special Administration Regime, and transform it into a mutual that is owned by and serves its customers and the environment, not vulture capital funds.”
