A fresh blow to Thames Water’s survival hopes and a staggering salary jump for Marks & Spencer’s boss are grabbing business headlines across the UK, highlighting both structural pressure and soaring executive rewards.
While Britain’s crumbling water infrastructure is now facing damning scrutiny and the collapse of a key investment deal, the corporate ladder elsewhere is still very much golden. And with political reshuffling also touching Royal Mail, there’s no shortage of movement at the top.
Water Industry Slammed as ‘Systemically Broken’
A new report has put the water sector on full blast. The Independent Water Commission didn’t mince words in calling out England and Wales’ industry for what it is: “deep-rooted and systemic failure.”
One sentence in particular stings — a “fundamental reset” is the only way out, it says.
That means more than patchwork repairs. The commission wants regulator Ofwat to stop being passive and start acting like a watchdog with teeth. Fixing pipes isn’t enough. Fixing the whole business model is now on the table.
The report’s timing? Couldn’t be sharper. Thames Water just watched its deal with private equity giant KKR collapse like a soggy sandcastle.
KKR Walks Away, Thames Shifts Gears
Thames Water had been banking on a life raft from KKR to help plug its financial hole. That plan’s now dead.
Talks fell apart with no white knight in sight. The company is now left regrouping around its senior creditors, trying to stitch together a fallback plan. Chairman Sir Adrian Montague still insists they’re “committed to a sustainable solution.”
It’s hard to overstate how critical this moment is. Thames Water, which serves a quarter of the UK population, is up to its neck in debt — over £14 billion — and trying to stay afloat with ageing infrastructure and public frustration rising like floodwater.
One paragraph won’t cover how dire this is.
South West Water Digs Deep Into Pockets and Plans
Pennon Group, the parent company behind South West Water, is also making waves — though for different reasons. It announced it’s sinking £3.2 billion into upgrades, from reducing leaks to improving water quality. But someone has to pay.
That someone is the customer.
Bills spiked 28% in April alone. That jump is expected to cover just a third of the group’s long-term strategy. Meanwhile, the company reported a brutal £72.7 million loss for the year, a sharp fall from last year’s £9.1 million hit. They blame heavy investment and demand cuts.
That’s not just belt-tightening. That’s full-on fiscal dieting.
Meanwhile at M&S: A CEO’s Payday Hits the Roof
While utility firms bleed red ink, Marks & Spencer’s top boss, Stuart Machin, is cashing in.
His annual package has ballooned to £7.1 million. Yep, you read that right. That’s nearly triple what he earned the year before. It’s partly tied to a performance-based bonus scheme, and let’s be fair — M&S has had a strong year with a retail comeback.
But in a cost-of-living crisis, optics matter. And the optics here are hard to ignore.
Key points on the M&S pay package:
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£810,000 base salary
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£2.8 million in bonuses
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£3.5 million in long-term incentive shares
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Total: £7.1 million
The company argues the payout is justified due to improved profits and shareholder returns. But many workers — and customers — might find that a bit rich.
Greg Hands Switches Gears to Royal Mail’s New Power Base
Adding to the day’s shakeups is Greg Hands, former UK trade minister, who’s just landed a full-time gig with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group.
That’s the same group that just took full control of Royal Mail.
Hands will now serve as a strategic adviser, focusing on EP Group’s operations in the UK and Germany. This marks a big move from politics into the boardroom. It also raises eyebrows as to how the future of Royal Mail might evolve under private control — and foreign ownership.
One sentence here says it all: Royal Mail’s next era will be anything but traditional.
A Side Note on Dalata’s Big Hotel Pitch
Irish hotel chain Dalata is also in the headlines — for potentially becoming part of a €1.3 billion mega-deal. Real estate firms Pandox and Eiendomsspar have made a cash offer that values shares at €6.05 each, a tidy 27% premium over their March price.
Still early days. No guarantees. But if this goes through, it could shake up the hospitality scene in a big way.
Only thing certain for now? UK business isn’t slowing down — it’s flipping the script from all directions.
