Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Thames Water has named Steve Buck as its new chief financial officer, replacing Alastair Cochran who stepped down unexpectedly this month, as the UK utility battles to shore up its finances and avoid renationalisation.
Buck, a former finance chief at utilities Pennon Group and Anglian Water, will take up the role on Monday next week, Thames Water said on Wednesday.
The appointment comes as Thames Water, which has 16mn customers across the London area and is saddled with almost £20bn of debt, this week chose private equity group KKR as its preferred bidder in an auction to take control of the utility.
Chris Weston, Thames Water’s chief executive, said that Buck was joining the company at a “pivotal moment”, adding that “he will play a crucial role as we seek to place Thames on a more secure financial foundation”.
Buck, who will receive an annual salary of £500,000 and be eligible for a bonus worth up to 156 per cent of that, worked at Thames Water between 2002 and 2007.
His career also included 11 years at British Gas owner Centrica where he held several roles, including group head of finance and transformation. Weston also previously worked at Centrica.
Buck said on Wednesday: “I will be focused on delivering the company’s turnaround plan, and deliver the recapitalisation of the business, in order to put the business on a firmer financial platform.”
Thames Water is seeking to persuade lenders to allow it to access a recently agreed £3bn emergency loan early. It also aims to reach an agreement on an injection of new funds by June, with the final sign-off due by September in a process run by the investment bank Rothschild.
Read the full article here