It came as a last-minute blow for their hopes of a deal to stave off temporary renationalisation, with industry regulator Ofwat said to have been close to accepting the offer from bidding consortium London & Valley Water, which has proposed injecting £10 billion into debt-laden Thames Water in return for any new fines over sewage leaks being waived for four years.
Thames Water swings to profit but debt mountain swells to £20bn
