Thames Water’s finance chief quits as firm continues trying to find a buyer
Thames Water’s finance boss has quit midway through a key restructuring of the heavily indebted utility giant.
Chief financial officer Alastair Cochran told the firm that he was stepping down on Friday morning.
His sudden departure comes as Thames Water continues to try to find a buyer for the company to help steady its finances.
Thames Water is England’s biggest water firm, with about 16m customers.
It is in at least £16bn of debt, and recently won court approval to take out as much as £3bn more in loans, in a deal designed to keep it running into 2026.
Mr Cochran, who was at Thames Water for three-and-a-half years, was “instrumental” in securing a £3bn deal, according to chief executive Chris Weston.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Mr Cochran notified the company of his departure early on Friday. He will remain in post until the end of March.
It constitutes another setback for the company, which has been at the centre of growing public anger over the state of the privatised water industry, as consumers face steeply rising bills while companies pump raw sewage into rivers and waterways.
That is despite a succession of penalties from regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency.
Meanwhile, many bosses, including those at Thames Water, have still been given hefty bonuses in the last year.
Chairman Sir Adrian Montague added that Mr Cochran had “overseen significant changes” to the company while in the position.
“He has led the work to put (Thames Water’s) finances on a more stable footing, overseeing the first stages of our equity raise and financial restructuring, laying the foundations for the wholesale recapitalisation of the business.”
Stuart Thom, Thames’ current director of group finance, will be interim chief financial officer.
Chief Executive Chris Weston said: “Since joining Thames Water in September 2021, Al has overseen significant progress within the company.
“He has led on the development of our most ambitious business plan ever, alongside work to put the business on a sound financial footing for the future, enabling us to better deliver for customers and the environment. Al was instrumental in securing £3bn of new liquidity to support the business through its longer term equity raise process.
“His technical capability, relationships with stakeholders and interest groups and personal tenacity and resilience has been pivotal to the Company delivering one of the largest restructuring activities in UK corporate history.”
Press Association