Anglian Water CEO Receives £500,000 Retention Payment Amid Bonus Ban
Mark Thurston, chief executive of Anglian Water, received a £500,000 retention payment as part of a near £1.86 million package for the last financial year. He also banked more than £450,000 this month under a separate scheme, despite new laws introduced by Labour last year banning bonuses for water company bosses if their firms fail to meet environmental standards.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said action would be taken to “prevent bonuses by any other name,” after the windfall sparked outrage. Anglian Water was hit with a near £63 million penalty last year after regulator Ofwat found the company had failed to properly manage its treatment works and network, leading to an inability to cope with sewage flows. The company was responsible for 12 serious pollution incidents last year, up from seven in 2024, against a target of zero. It was also fined over leaks and supply disruptions.
Company Defends Payments as Necessary for Leadership Retention
Anglian Water insisted Thurston, who joined in August 2024 from the troubled HS2 high-speed rail line, had not received a bonus. The retention fee, which commits him to stay until January next year, was needed to keep the “high calibre of newly recruited leadership.” The company stressed that both payments related to his work for the wider Anglian Water Group, not the regulated water supply business.
“The chief executive and chief finance officer roles operate across the whole of the Anglian Water Group, which includes businesses separate to the water company and which carry out a range of commercial activities and generate annual revenues of around £800 million,” the firm said. “Payments from the group are not in any way funded by customers, but to ensure transparency, we report payments from wider group alongside those from the regulated water company.”
Ofwat to Scrutinise Payments Amid Broader Pay Review
Ofwat is expected to examine both payments as part of a wider look at boardroom pay across water companies. Last November, it announced it had used new powers to block more than £4 million of potential bonuses for water bosses in the last financial year.
Emma Reynolds said: “These payments fly in the face of basic fairness and the British public are right to be furious. We’ve already banned £4 million in bonuses for polluting water bosses and will be taking action to prevent bonuses by any other name.”
Anglian Water, which supplies seven million customers, is set to hike customer bills by 44% between 2024/25 and 2029/30.
Consumer Group Warns of Customer Anger
Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Customers would be incensed if any water company was found to be circumventing bonus payment rules and we would expect the regulator to step in if evidence was found of this.”
The controversy follows anger over Thames Water boss Chris Weston, who said he deserved his pay rise to almost £1 million despite the debt-laden firm facing a possible taxpayer rescue. Weston did not receive a bonus.
