(Bloomberg) -- A stake in Thames Water is now worth nothing, according to one Australian investor.
Queensland Investment Corporation, which owns about 5% of Thames, marked down the value of its investment to zero, Chief Executive Officer Kylie Rampa told a Queensland parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. Thames is in crisis after its parent company defaulted on its debts and shareholders refused to put more equity into England’s biggest water and sewage company.
“Thames Water has been quite a troubled investment and asset,” Rampa said. “We have written that asset down to zero, which is very unfortunate.”
Thames is running out of cash and is being put into special measures by regulator Ofwat. The utility urgently needs to turn around the business to attract the new equity needed for its survival. Thames debt is also teetering on the edge of junk, following S&P Global Ratings’ warning of a downgrade.
Read: Struggling Thames Water’s £10 Billion Bonds Face Double Blow
QIC’s move follows a writeoff by top investor Omers Farmoor Singapore Pte, a vehicle of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, which said in May its 32% stake in Thames’s parent company was worthless.
Church Water Investment, which holds 20% of Thames’s parent company Kemble Water Holdings, also wrote down its stake by almost two-thirds in January. That’s the investment vehicle for the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK’s largest private pension fund, which looks after the retirement benefits of Britain’s academics.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
