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Macquarie told investors that he was “very proud” of his file as owner of Thames Water, the public service in charge of debt which fell deep financial difficulties since the investor of the Australian infrastructure sold his participation seven years ago.
Macquarie, now the majority owner of Southern Water, attracted the anger of politicians and activists for his decade of the property of the Thames in which the debt increased spectacular and the dividends were regularly paid to the shareholders.
“We are in fact proud, very proud of our property in Thames Water,” said Ben Way, Macquarie Asset Management group leader, an investor day last month.
He added that during the last decade, “no regulator in the United Kingdom” has considered the Australian financial group as something other than “a very positive owner of assets”.
The debt of Thames Water went from 3.4 billion pounds sterling in 2006, when Macquarie joined the company for the first time, at 10.8 billion pounds Sterling during its final sale in 2017. Now, going to the insolvency, the heap of the debt of the utility has since rose to a high emergency rate to nearly 20 billion sterling books and it is Ready to borrow up to 3 billion pounds sterling in high -level emergency practices from its senior lenders.
“Imagine being blamed for a house you have seven years ago when the roof fled,” said Way.
During the ownership of Macquarie, approximately 2.7 billion pounds sterling were removed in dividends and 2.2 billion pounds additional sterling of loans.
However, Macquarie previously defended his file, indicating 11 billion pounds sterling of customer invoices spent for infrastructure during his property – a figure which, according to him, was “the highest level of customer investment of all aquatic companies in England and Wales”.
He also said that Thames Water’s water leak had dropped by 22% during the period and that it reduced “pollution incidents” by 75% compared to 2006.
“It was a much better company, imperfect, but much better after our stewardship,” said Way. “Thames Water is a very good example of the ability to have the courage of your convictions and look beyond drama or media noise.”
Macquarie said: “Under our property, we supported Wames Water because he provided record investment levels, which made it possible to improve significant improvements in water quality, leakage reduction and pollution incidents … When we sold our final participation in 2017, the company met all the conditions set by the regulator and had a rating of investment.”
Several of the largest shareholders of Thames Water, including the Ontario municipal employee retirement system, the employee retirement system and Abu Dhabi, have struck the value of their investments in the public service last year.
Thames Water has selected KKR – A shareholder of Northumbrian Water – as a favorite tenderer in a process aimed at recapitalizing the group, after the US investment group submitted a preliminary offer of 4 billion pounds sterling to take a majority participation in Thames Water.
Sarah OLNEY, Liberal Democratic MP for Richmond Park, said last year: “Under the property of Macquarie, the Thames water pumped millions of liters of disgusting wastewater in the British rivers while accumulating billions of debt books which were then paid to the shareholders.”
Macquarie has acquired the majority of Southern Water, the next most distress company in the United Kingdom, in 2021. The company has trouble under its own duty of debts of 6 billion pounds sterling and is in talks with lenders to its portfolio company on potential services to their loans.
In addition to the proposed haircut, Macquarie Asset Management injects 900 million pounds sterling of fresh equity in Southern Water.
