Thames Water plc is the largest water and wastewater services company in the United Kingdom, with more than 13 million customers in England and Wales. The company was in hands of the public sector (Thames Water Authority) until 1989 when it was privatized with transfer of its regulatory, river management and navigation responsibilities to the National Rivers Authority, which later became part of the Environment Agency. The newly privatized water industry remained strictly subject to governmental control and regulation, including annual specific quality standards of the UK and the European Commission, and a mandatory capital investment program to improve existing inadequate infrastructure inherited by Thames. Over time, the company diversified its portfolio and took over several water supply utilities and also started to offer consulting, infrastructure, project management, engineering, and maintenance services. Thames Water was acquired by the RWE Group, a German conglomerate in 2001 and then sold to Kemble Water Ltd., formed by a group of investors led by Australia's Macquarie Group, in December 2006. Like other water companies, Thames saw its share of controversy as it tried to strike the balance between the public duty of a monopoly utility, the influence of the regulatory agency and the profit motive of the private sector.
| BUSINESS | CONSTRUCTION OBLIGATIONS | PRIVATE FUNDING | SERVICE DELIVERY | SOURCE OF REVENUE |
BUSINESS - Existing: The transaction involved the privatization of the Thames Water, which until 1989 was in hands of the public sector (and referred as Thames Water Authority). The company therefore had an existing demand from about 7 million customers, an existing stream of revenues and tested cost data.
CONSTRUCTION OBLIGATIONS - N/A
PRIVATE FUNDING - Finance: Since the transaction involved transferring ownership of a the company's assets (divestiture) to private sector investors it is categorized as Finance.
SERVICE DELIVERY - User: Thames Water deliver services directly to consumers and is responsible for collection and billing obligations as well as customer service
SOURCE OF REVENUE - Tariffs: The utility is responsible for billing and collecting revenues directly from its large number of customers.