Thames Water faces row over £1m payment to finance chief
Thames Water has paid its chief financial officer, Steve Buck, a £1m signing fee despite the company facing intense scrutiny over its finances and the possibility of being brought into public ownership. The disclosure, made by chairman Sir Adrian Montague in a letter to MPs, has reignited criticism of the struggling utility, which is one of at least eight water firms banned from paying performance-related bonuses due to environmental failings, and campaigners say it strengthens the case for the government to nationalise it.
The £1m payment was made last month, drawn from a £3bn emergency debt package agreed with creditors to keep Thames Water afloat while it negotiates a longer-term takeover. It was a deferred retention payment tied to Buck's joining the firm from Pennon Group in April 2025, and came on top of his £591,000 pay for the last financial year, including a £491,000 base salary later raised to £630,000. Cat Hobbs of campaign group We Own It accused the company of "taking the mickey" and urged Andy Burnham to bring it into public ownership, arguing debt could be refinanced more cheaply under state control.
- Thames Water paid CFO Steve Buck a £1m signing fee last month
- Payment made despite a ban on performance bonuses and financial scrutiny
- Campaigners say it strengthens the case for nationalisation
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Thames Water is the UK's largest water and sewerage company, supplying around 16 million customers across London and the Thames Valley. It has been under severe financial strain for years, weighed down by billions of pounds of debt, and has faced repeated criticism over sewage spills, leaks and poor service. The company is currently trying to secure a long-term financial rescue, with government-ordered nationalisation, known as special administration, seen as a real possibility if private options fail.
Steve Buck is Thames Water's chief financial officer, having joined from rival water firm Pennon Group in April 2025. His £1m payment, revealed by chairman Sir Adrian Montague, has drawn attention because it was funded from an emergency £3bn loan meant to keep the company running, at a time when Thames Water and several other water companies have been barred from paying bonuses linked to performance because of environmental failings.
The row matters because it touches on wider public anger over executive pay at struggling utilities, and feeds into the debate over whether Thames Water should be taken into public ownership. Andy Burnham, mentioned in connection with nationalisation calls, is the mayor of Greater Manchester and a prominent Labour figure who has spoken out on public ownership issues, while groups such as We Own It campaign for utilities to be run by the state rather than private investors.
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