Thames Water creditors nominate former minister Hutton as chair — The Guardian

In the United Kingdom, the London & Valley Water creditors' consortium has nominated former British minister John Hutton for the post of independent chair of the Thames Water board. The appointment is to take place if the government approves the creditors' takeover of the country's largest water supplier, The Guardian reports.

£10bn deal

London & Valley Water is seeking to conclude a £10bn rescue deal for Thames Water. The creditors have been negotiating with ministers and regulators for several months over the future ownership of the company, which has around 16 million customers in southern England.

Thames Water has been trying to avoid bankruptcy for several years and is running out of cash. The company recently asked creditors for additional funding of £2.4bn.

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Change of candidate for chair

Hutton will be supported by Mike McTighe, a telecommunications and corporate turnaround specialist who is leading the restructuring of Thames Water. In August, McTighe was expected to be appointed chair of the board to replace Sir Adrian Montague, provided the takeover was approved. He has now been designated as the candidate for deputy chair and is to work closely with the management team.

John Hutton served in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including as secretary of state for work and pensions, business secretary and defence secretary. He also chaired the Nuclear Industry Association, Energy UK, Make UK, the Association of Infrastructure Investors and London Luton Airport.

Hutton said he aims to help the new leadership take the company to a better level, focusing on the quality of customer service and proper environmental management.