The largest shareholder in Thames Water has formally written off the entire value of its stake, effectively concluding that the equity of Britain’s biggest water company is worthless.
Accounts filed by Omers, a Canadian pension fund that holds nearly a third of Thames’ shares, show it has made “a full writedown” of the holding, which three years ago it valued at almost £1 billion.
The announcement came a day after Omers had withdrawn its director representative from the boards of Thames entities.
A Singapore-based subsidiary of Omers said in December 2021 that the fund’s 32 per cent stake in Kemble Water Holdings, Thames’ parent company, was worth £990 million. Filings show that this was reduced early last year to £700 million, as rising interest rates