Thames Water
Thames Water is a private British water companies. The company was since 2001 a subsidiary of the German energy group RWE. After a sale announcement in January 2006, the company is in October 2006 owned by Kemble Water, a consortium led by an Australian investment fund. It supplies 8.7 million customers in Greater London and the surrounding areas with drinking water and operates the wastewater.
Thames Water was established in 1989 under the direction of neo-liberal British prime minister Margaret Thatcher from the established in 1973, state water authority Thames Water Authority as Thames Water Utilities Limited (comparable to a corporation). By founding the company, the goal was to mobilize private capital to clean up the decaying London's water and wastewater system.
The piping system
The supply system consists of 32,000 km of drinking water lines and 108,000 km sewers. The London part is the oldest network of a large city and correspondingly large, the damage to the lines. According to estimates seeped in May 2006 over 30 percent of drinking water from the pipes in the ground and the water pressure in the lines fluctuates constantly. By invading air in the pipes, the water is stale.
The losses in the water supply system will be offset by additional water reservoirs on the lower reaches of the Thames. These relate the drinking water from filter wells of the heavily polluted Thames water. Alone, about 50 times a year of raw sewage into the Thames are required as a result of overloaded channels direct discharges that contribute to the pollution of the shore wells.
The London sewers date from the 19th century and were built of bricks. Due to the intense traffic of the metropolis, they are subject to permanent shocks that accelerate the decay. Again and again, sewage back up in broken channels and exits to the surface. This Thames Water was added to the English company that was most frequently prosecuted for environmental offenses.
The Company
Important shareholders were U.S. pension funds and London banks. Like other privatized state-owned enterprises also Thames Water had been exempt from all income taxes. Thus, the profit expectations of shareholders and management could be met with double-digit returns and salary increases, the manager soon. However, the water prices rose also, while investment failed to materialize in the outdated pipeline network.
In the 1990s, the international capital investors and utilities appeared the deal with the water as " blue gold ". RWE intended to offer its French competitors Vivendi / Veolia and Suez / Ondeo on the world market Paroli. As a basis for entry into the water business offered to Thames Water in 1999 with its 8 million water customers and 15 million wastewater customers. In addition, it contributed its relations in the British Commonwealth, which were for expansion into Asia, Australia, Africa, the USA, Canada and South America is of great advantage. The most expensive purchase here was with € 8 billion American Water Works - the largest U.S. water companies. The company has the beginning of 2006 a total of approximately 70 million customers worldwide.
The profit calculations of RWE were thwarted due to ongoing protests in London's population. First, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone made to the consumer advocate. He advised his fellow citizens: "Do not use after urinating flush the toilet! Save the water for your tea. " Finally, the regulator Ofwat (Office of Water Services ) stepped in and demanded that RWE € 714m of investment for drinking water lines and € 470 million for the sewers, in the period between 2005 and are to be provided in 2010. Thus, the daily water loss of 915 million liters to 725 million liters should be reduced. Thames Water was forbidden to reallocate the investments on water prices and to expel a greater annual return than six percent. Nevertheless, we succeeded RWE to two percent to increase its operating profit in 2005 to € 1.4 billion.
Sale to Kemble Water
After a bidding process, RWE announced its intention to sell after approval by the antitrust Thames Water for £ 4.8 billion to the consortium Kemble Water. At the bidding process Terra Firma Capital Partners and a consortium of Swiss investment bank UBS and Qatar were involved. Kemble Water took over the debt of Thames Water in the amount of £ 3.2 billion back Kemble Waters is a consortium with Australia's Macquarie Bank.