The Thames Water chairman apologized to the customers, insisting that it was not a “unsuccessful company” and said that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth recently bonuses for bosses were justified.
Sir Adrian Montague told MPs on Tuesday that he wants to apologize for the “lifting of customers” in recent years and sometimes causes people “real difficulties”.
Asked about the attempts to turn the struggling water company, he said: “We have learned that there is a huge sum to be made to achieve productivity to zero. We know we leave the customers.
“We know that pollution, we know that spilling, we know that supply interruptions cause inconvenience and sometimes real difficulties.
“So I think the right thing is to start a discussion about the turn plan, admitting that we have not always served our customers properly, and through the committee we apologized to them.”
Sir Adrian appeared before the Committee for Election of MPs of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) of MPs.
Thames Water is the biggest water company in England and delivers about 16 million households in London and Southeast.
The company is at the center of the growing public outrageous of the degree of pollution, increasing bills, high dividends and executive salary and bonuses in privatized water companies in the UK.
He also has about £ 19 billion in debt and was recently allowed to take another high -cost loan that could reach 3 billion British pounds to give up the upcoming collapse.
Sometimes heated exchanges with MPs, Sir Adrian revealed how close the company came to exhaust the money in the last year.
He said: “There have been times in the last year that we have had five weeks of liquidity-and by conducting a corporation of £ 20 billion at five weeks of liquidity, to be honest, it is a hair enhancement.”
Thames Water has encountered public outrage at the degree of sewage pollution in recent years (Andrew Matthews/PA)
He also defended the additional debt of 3 billion British pounds under financial conditions, described as “looking” even by the Supreme Court judge, who approved it.
Sir Adrian said: “We were in a beggars situation, we couldn’t seek ourselves, we were running along the edge of the precipice. We had to secure the financial future of the company.”
However, he defended the distribution of hundreds of thousands of pounds in bonus payments to the best bosses in recent years.
He said, “We live in a competitive market and have to provide the right type of packages to these people, otherwise hunters on their heads come.”
Asked by Labor MP Helena Dolimore why the head hunters would recruit from a “unsuccessful company”, he disputed her characteristic.
Sir Adrian said, “This is not a failed company. This is a recovery company. We make progress.”
The committee session comes six weeks after Thames has chosen KKR investment company as a “preferred partner” to buy a water company.
Nevertheless, Chief Executive Officer Chris Weston told MPS that it remains a “very liquid situation”, with the possibility of the company still being publicly owned.
He acknowledged that hundreds of millions of pounds in the punishment of Thames Water Faces for missing goals, it makes it difficult to enter a new investor.
Asked if the current process with KKR failed, it would be too late to return to other potential investors or lead to a special regime of administration, D -N -Weston replied: “This is a very liquid situation, but both are opportunities.”
He said it would depend on factors such as what the creditors would do, and added: “There is no guarantee that we will not remain in a market -led decision, unlike a special administration, but this is a very liquid situation and they are all opportunities.”
Thames Water is fighting about £ 19 billion in debt (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Meanwhile, Sir Adrian admitted that bosses would receive millions of pounds bonuses as part of a loan of £ 3 billion, agreed earlier this year.
The so -called retention incentives can amount to the “50% of the salary”, which the chairman said it is important to stop rivals from “weaning” senior executives.
Sir Adrian said, “We have a bonus scheme to protect our most precious resource, which is a senior management team.”
Bonuses can lead to the senior bosses receive £ 1 million at the top of their annual salaries and regular bonuses.
Chief Executive Officer, G -N Weston, has already been criticized for the acceptance of a bonus of 195,000 British pounds for his first three months in work last year.
Asked earlier at the session whether it is reasonable to accept such a large bonus so soon in the role, D -N Weston said: “I think I made a change in the first three months.”
He added that when he joined the Thames, it was a “lost direction”.
“I was the fifth CEO in five years … It creates confusion for the people of the company.”
He said, “It’s a big ship to turn. It’s very difficult.”
EFRA Committee Chairman Alistair Carmatile said after the session: “Our hearing with the Thame water bosses this morning has sparked real concerns about the company’s commitment to transparency and accountability to its customers.
“Alarm bells are ringing the processes that underlie the proposed bid for absorption by KKR and the potential for a corporate seam, which is beneficial to those at the top and fails to deliver to customers and the environment.”
