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Introduction: Ofwat fines Thames Water nearly £123m
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
The national water regulator Ofwat has fined Thames Water nearly £123m after two investigations into the company.
The watchdog has ordered Thames Water to pay a £104.5m penalty for breaches of rules connected to its wastewater operations, which is the largest penalty that Ofwat has ever issued.
That is on top of an additional penalty of £18.2m for breaches relating to dividend payments. It represents the first time Ofwat has taken action against a company that has paid dividends regardless of its performance.
The watchdog found Thames Water has caused an “unacceptable impact on the environment and customers”.
David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, has said:
This is a clear-cut case where Thames Water has let down its customers and failed to protect the environment. Our investigation has uncovered a series of failures by the company to build, maintain and operate adequate infrastructure to meet its obligations. The company also failed to come up with an acceptable redress package that would have benefited the environment, so we have imposed a significant financial penalty.
Thames Water has said that it takes its responsibility towards the environment “very seriously”.
A spokesperson for Britain’s biggest water company has said:
We take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously and note that Ofwat acknowledges we have already made progress to address issues raised in the investigation relating to storm overflows.
The dividends were declared following a consideration of the Company’s legal and regulatory obligations.
Our lenders continue to support our liquidity position and our equity raise process continues.
The agenda
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8AM BST: Kantar supermarket numbers
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8:55AM BST: German unemployment data
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9:30AM BST: ONS working and workless households data
Elsewhere this morning, New Zealand has cut interest rates for a sixth meeting in a row.
New Zealand’s central bank cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%.
Economists are still expecting further rate cuts in the country, says Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) lowered its interest rate by 25bp as expected and projected further cuts due to downside risks from the global trade war, which continues to weigh on New Zealand’s exports and broader domestic growth outlook.
The Kiwi was little changed against the dollar. The AUDUSD, on the other hand, slipped below its 200-DMA on the back of a broad-based US dollar rebound.
The RBNZ cuts its cash rate from 3.5% to 3.25% as expected citing weaker demand and inflation and spare capacity. Its guidance was mixed but lowered its expected terminal cash rate to 2.9% from 3.1%. pic.twitter.com/UplpuedBeh
— Shane Oliver (@ShaneOliverAMP) May 28, 2025Grocery prices are still rising – up 4.1% in the four weeks ended on 18 May, says the market research company Kantar.
That represents the highest rate since February 2024 and takes us into new territory this year, says Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar.
Households have been adapting their buying habits to manage budgets for some time, but we typically see changes in behaviour once inflation tips beyond the 3% to 4% point as people notice the impact on their wallets more.
It is maybe not so surprising then that shoppers are looking for more bargains on supermarket shelves. Discounters achieved their strongest combined growth since January 2024, Kantar found, at 8.4%. Lidl reached a new market share high of 8.1%, with sales up by 10.9%. That puts it just behind Morrisons, which ranks as the fifths biggest supermarket chain at 8.4% of the market share.
The penalties against Thames Water will be paid by the company and its investors, not customers, the regulator has said.
Ofwat’s investigation found that interim dividend payments worth £37.5m in October 2023 to the holding company, Thames Water Utilities Holdings Limited, and further dividend payments worth £131.3m in March 2024 broke the rules.
Thames Water is currently in “cash lock up” and no further dividend payments can be paid without approval from Ofwat.
Environment secretary Steve Reed has said the government has launched the toughest crackdown on water companies in history.
Last week we announced a record 81 criminal investigations have been launched into water companies. Today Ofwat announce the largest fine ever handed to a water company in history.
The era of profiting from failure is over. The Government is cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Introduction: Ofwat fines Thames Water nearly £123m
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
The national water regulator Ofwat has fined Thames Water nearly £123m after two investigations into the company.
The watchdog has ordered Thames Water to pay a £104.5m penalty for breaches of rules connected to its wastewater operations, which is the largest penalty that Ofwat has ever issued.
That is on top of an additional penalty of £18.2m for breaches relating to dividend payments. It represents the first time Ofwat has taken action against a company that has paid dividends regardless of its performance.
The watchdog found Thames Water has caused an “unacceptable impact on the environment and customers”.
David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, has said:
This is a clear-cut case where Thames Water has let down its customers and failed to protect the environment. Our investigation has uncovered a series of failures by the company to build, maintain and operate adequate infrastructure to meet its obligations. The company also failed to come up with an acceptable redress package that would have benefited the environment, so we have imposed a significant financial penalty.
Thames Water has said that it takes its responsibility towards the environment “very seriously”.
A spokesperson for Britain’s biggest water company has said:
We take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously and note that Ofwat acknowledges we have already made progress to address issues raised in the investigation relating to storm overflows.
The dividends were declared following a consideration of the Company’s legal and regulatory obligations.
Our lenders continue to support our liquidity position and our equity raise process continues.
The agenda
-
8AM BST: Kantar supermarket numbers
-
8:55AM BST: German unemployment data
-
9:30AM BST: ONS working and workless households data
