THE boss of Thames Water abruptly quit yesterday as doubts over its ability to raise fresh funds prompted the Government to consider taking control.
Sarah Bentley, who ran the company for the past three years, stepped down with immediate effect according to a statement rushed out to the Stock Exchange yesterday.
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Alistair Cochran and Cathryn Ross will take over in unusual roles as interim co-chief executives until her replacement is found.
Thames Water declined to comment on the reason for Ms Bentley’s exit and she did not return attempts for comment.
But late last night, Sky News reported the Government was exploring plans to put the firm into special administration — in a similar way it did with failed energy supplier Bulb in 2021.
In March, highly indebted Thames Water raised £500million from its investors and had been in talks to generate the same amount again.
Ms Bentley had been candid about the mismanagement of the company by her predecessors.
She recently told The Sun its issues stemmed from “decades of under investment and poor management decisions that really hollowed out the business”.
The boss, who says she is “passionate about the water sector”, also admitted her big turnaround plan for the company was “not yet where I want it to be” — blaming high energy costs and extreme weather.
Ms Bentley said she would give up her bonus over sewage spills, but was still paid £1.6million last year linked to shares she forfeited when she left Severn Trent.
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The GMB union said it was “galling” for her to receive a “king’s ransom” while claiming she would not take a bonus and called it “nothing more than a flimsy PR stunt”.
80K JOBS FROM FOREIGN CASH
FOREIGN investment is set to create nearly 80,000 jobs, figures show.
The UK has remained the second top place in Europe for foreign investors with more than 1,600 direct projects.
Yorkshire and the Humber were the biggest winners with investment rising 97 per cent and 7,378 jobs created from 16 Net Zero-related projects.
Investment Minister Lord Dominic Johnson said: “The UK is a great place to start and grow a successful business.
“Investors are looking beyond London and the South East for opportunities with highly skilled workforces.”
NIGERIAN WOE HITS CUSSONS
STRONG sales of fake tan and baby bath products at consumer goods firm PZ Cussons have been overshadowed by a dramatic drop in the value of Nigeria’s currency, where the group has a big business.
PZ Cussons said that it faced a £20million hit with every ten per cent devaluation in the Naira currency, which has been liberalised from foreign exchange restrictions.
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While best known in the UK for its Original Source and Imperial Leather products it makes the biggest chunk of sales in Africa, where it sells fridges and freezers under the Haier Thermocool brand.
Boss Jonathan Myers said that while the devaluation had a one-off impact, “the medium to long-term prospects will be much improved by the economic reforms being introduced by the government, the likes of which have not been seen for decades”.
BARCLAYS up 1.40 to 146.32p
BP down 6.30 to 452.70p
CENTRICA up 0.80 to 119.60p
HSBC up 6.20 to 610.30p
LLOYDS up 0.54 to 42.50p
M&S up 0.35 to 188.50p
NATWEST down 0.70 to 230.90p
ROYAL MAIL flat at 0.00 to 214.40p
SAINSBURY’S up 0.80 to 264.70p
SHELL down 21.50 to 2,319.50p
TESCO up 0.80 to 252.60p
BANK ON A SLUMP
THE Bank of England will push the UK into recession if it continues to hike rates to tame inflation, according to Bloomberg Economics.
Their analysts say the UK faces entering a year-long slump if the Bank raises interest rates from five per cent to 5.75 per cent by November.
The market is betting rates will keep rising to above six per cent after shock inflation figures last week showed current efforts were not working so far.
JD SALES SOFTEN
SHARES in JD Sports were given a kicking yesterday after the trainer and tracksuit retailer said its sales had softened in recent weeks.
The retailer is on track to make £1billion in profit.
But yesterday JD told investors that there was some “softening in trade” in North America.
It reassured investors that its stock levels were normal.
Overall sales have grown by 8 per cent across its business of 3,400 shops in 32 countries.
Shares in JD fell by as much as 6 per cent yesterday as investors are nervous about the health of the retail sector.
JUST ten per cent of single mothers in work say they can “live comfortably” — compared to 28 per cent of single fathers.
Almost one in four single mothers in professional jobs rely on additional income to get by, according to a poll by Robert Walters.
UP, PROFIT-WISE
MONEY transfer firm Wise has seen profits treble after higher interest rates boosted its income from customer deposits.
The company, formerly TransferWise, posted a 234 per cent increase to £146.5million for the year to the end of March.
It added 4.5million new customers in the same period and helped them move £105billion of money across borders.
Boss Kristo Kaarmann set up Wise in 2011 after “being stung” by his bank when sending cash home to Estonia.
His firm claims to have saved customers £1.5billion in foreign exchange fees.
BOOTS AXE 300 STORES
BOOTS is to close 300 stores in the UK – despite announcing a boost to sales.
In the latest blow to the high street, the retailer said it was revamping its store estate, including closures in towns with more than one branch already.
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James Kehoe, finance chief at parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance, said: “We expect to close an additional 300 locations in the UK and 150 in the US.”
Boots said overall retail sales rose by 13.4 per cent in the three months to the end of May, as customers bought a product from its new anti-ageing Future Renew range every two seconds.
The group’s pharmacy has also been boosted by hay fever medicine sales and new erectile dysfunction treatment Eroxon, with one sold every 30 seconds.
