Thames Water non-executive director quits board of troubled utilities firm

A representative from Thames Water’s largest shareholder has quit the board of the troubled utilities giant.

Michael McNicholas, a director at Canadian pension fund Omers Infrastructure, has said he will stand down from his role as a non-executive director at Thames Water Utilities Limited “with immediate effect”.

The Omers fund owns almost a third of Kemble Water, the ultimate parent company of Thames Water’s operating company.

It comes amid concerns that the water company’s largest investors might ditch their stake in the UK’s biggest water company.

Sky News reported earlier this week that some non-executive directors were poised to leave the board after shareholders refused to inject around £3 billion in equity.

The company said: “This follows the announcement made on March 28 2024 that, based on the feedback provided by Ofwat to Thames Water to date, the regulatory arrangements that would be expected to apply to Thames Water make the … plan uninvestible.

“Thames Water continues to meet Ofwat’s expectation that independent non-executive directors form the largest single group on the board and the UK corporate governance code requirement that, excluding the chairman, independent non-executive directors make up at least half the board membership.”

In March, Thames Water bosses admitted the firm could face the risk of emergency nationalisation after shareholders refused to provide more cash for the firm.

Last month, Thames Water put forward new plans to boost spending and investment in its network, but warned this could see customer bills surge by 44%.