Has Thames Water’s public esteem sunk to new depths?

Earlier this year, Thames Water entered a standoff with water regulator Ofwat over attempts to raise customer bills by 40 per cent. At the time – when investors pulled £500m of funding from the utility supplier – YouGov data showed that the company was more disliked than not among the UK public.

With media outlets reporting on sewage leaks, outbreaks of water-borne illness, and the ongoing, unresolved discussions about nationalisation, headlines for Thames Water haven’t improved in the months since – and neither has public perception.

In fact, YouGov BrandIndex shows that, since 28 March 2024, the utility company’s Impression scores – a measure of general positive and negative sentiment towards a brand – have gone from bad (-16.6) to worse (-30.7), plummeting -14.1 points.

Adverse headlines about sewage leaks and illness outbreaks may have also contributed to a decline in Quality scores – from -13.5 to -25.6 (-12.1) over the same period. Thames Water’s attempt to hike bills may not have been warmly received, either: Value for Money scores, which were already in the negative at the end of March (-15.1), have since fallen even lower (-22.0): deteriorating by 6.9 points in total. Consumer advocacy has followed a similar path: Recommend scores sank from -9.2 to -17.8 over the timeframe we have tracked (-8.6).

Finally, Index scores, which measure overall brand health by taking an average of several measures, have crashed from -11.4 to -20.5 (-9.1). With the company at risk of collapse, a slew of negative press, the looming prospect of nationalisation, and a general election set for 4 July, Thames Water faces challenges and uncertainty on multiple fronts.

Whether it survives in its current form or not is an open question – as is the question of whether or not it can climb back up from the depths and regain the public’s trust.