Thames Water has come under fire after making a £1 million signing-on payment to its finance chief, Steve Buck, despite the company teetering on the brink of collapse. The payment, made at the end of last month, was part of a package to persuade Buck to join the struggling utility in April 2025.
Campaigners condemn payment
Feargal Sharkey, the Undertones star and clean water campaigner, slammed the company's actions, saying: "Water industry depravity hits an all-time low. Their contempt for customers and the environment clearly knows no bounds. When are Government going to intervene and put a stop to this?"
The money for the payment is understood to have come from an emergency borrowing facility provided by a syndicate of lenders, who are seeking government backing for a solvent rescue plan for the debt-laden company.
Public ownership calls intensify
Cat Hobbs, director of public ownership campaign We Own It, said: "The Thames Water saga is beyond a joke at this point – they are completely taking the mickey. Andy Burnham must step in immediately and take back the company. It has gone bust, it's worth nothing, the shareholders have walked away, and the debt can be drastically cut and refinanced more cheaply in public hands. It's criminal to let this rip-off continue with 16 million households paying the price."
The payment was disclosed in a letter sent last week by Thames Water's chairman, Sir Adrian Montague, to MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee. Buck, a former finance chief at Pennon Group and Anglian Water, received the payment as part of his signing-on package.
Criticism over debt and sewage
Amy Fairman, River Actions' head of campaigns, said: "Thames Water is on the brink of financial collapse with a debt pile of £20 million, rivers in their region are drowning in sewage, and 571 million litres of water are lost every day. Yet there’s still £1 million for a finance chief’s signing-on payment when over a quarter of Thames Water customer bills go to servicing debt. Meanwhile, frontline staff are out around the clock holding this failing company together. It’s indefensible. Put Thames Water into special administration and rebuild it to serve its customers, and clean up our rivers, not reward failure."
Thames Water has been contacted for comment.
