Thames Water revealed it made a £1m signing fee payment to chief financial officer Steve Buck in the previous month, according to correspondence from the company’s chair to members of Parliament’s environment committee. The disclosure came amid ongoing concerns about the financial stability of Britain’s largest water utility, which serves 16 million customers across London and the Thames valley.
The company has faced significant restrictions on executive compensation due to persistent environmental violations stemming from aging infrastructure. Thames Water has been subject to a ban on performance-related bonuses alongside at least seven other water companies. The utility has teetered on the brink of operational failure for more than two years, prompting discussions about potential government intervention to assume control and address accumulated debts in the billions.
The signing payment to Buck was drawn from a £3bn emergency financing arrangement established with creditors last year. This funding is intended to sustain operations while the company negotiates a longer-term creditor takeover, following the departure of shareholders from the business more than two years ago. Buck, who joined Thames Water from Pennon Group in April 2025, also received a base salary of £491,000 and an additional £25,000 onboarding payment during the financial year ending in March. His base salary was subsequently increased to £630,000 in April.
Calls for government takeover have intensified following the executive compensation disclosure. Industry advocates argue that public ownership could reduce costs and refinance accumulated debt more efficiently. Thames Water’s creditors have proposed offering the government a “golden share” in the business as an alternative to formal takeover. The company also reported paying £4.1m in bonuses to senior management in recent months, while settling retention payments to 14 other executives at lower sums than originally planned.
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