Religion and Ethics Forum

General Category => Politics & Current Affairs => Topic started by: Nearly Sane on June 28, 2023, 04:37:22 PM

Title: Thames Water in funding talks amid collapse fears
Post by: Nearly Sane on June 28, 2023, 04:37:22 PM

Just incredible the debt amount taken on. It does not look like a sensible approach.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66039170

Title: Re: Thames Water in funding talks amid collapse fears
Post by: Steve H on June 29, 2023, 01:55:27 PM

Any industry which provides an essential service and therefore can't be allowed to just go bust, and any industry which operates on a national network, such as water, electricity and railways, should be nationalised. Both those conditions apply here. A Labour party with an ounce of gumption would make a manifesto promise to renationalise all of them.

Title: Re: Thames Water in funding talks amid collapse fears
Post by: jeremyp on June 30, 2023, 02:39:26 PM

Quote

Since 2016, profits have not covered the cost of paying interest on its debt

Most likely this debt is the result of its buyers taking out a loan to buy the company and then transferring the debt to the company. This is what happened with Manchester United and it's what Elon Musk did to Twitter. It's time that this practice was made illegal.

Title: Re: Thames Water in funding talks amid collapse fears
Post by: Harrowby Hall on July 01, 2023, 09:10:51 AM

Quote

Any industry which provides an essential service and therefore can't be allowed to just go bust, and any industry which operates on a national network, such as water, electricity and railways, should be nationalised.

So, who owns this company?

According to Wikipedia:80% of the shares are owned by the following:

• Kuwait Investment Authority                                    23%
  Universities Superannuation Scheme                        19.7%
  BT Pension Scheme                                                 13%
  Abu Dhabi Investment Authority                                9.9%
  China Investment Corporation                                   8.7%
  Kuwait Invetment Authority                                      8.5%

The needs of university staff and BT employees are hardly being helped here.

What is striking here is that more than 50% of this company is owned by essentially national sovereign interests outside the United Kingdom. This, of course, is a reminder of one of Margaret Thatcher's maxims - that the foreign ownership of British companies was not important. What was important was that foreigh money was invested in Britain. She never considered that determination of a company's strategies might be determined by needs that did not involve those of the United Kingdom