Sunak sends aide to manage crisis at Thames Water
Rishi Sunak has dispatched a new key aide with a “CEO” mentality to help manage the Thames Water crisis, amid fears that a potential collapse of the company would drive up bills for consumers.
Lord Petitgas, a former banking executive and now Downing Street adviser, has joined critical talks between the regulator Ofwat and Thames Water, amid reports of a stand-off over payments to shareholders. i previously revealed that the company was under investigation by Ofwat over paying dividends even as it lurched into a deeper financial abyss.
Debt problems have forced the company to demand the right to raise bills by 40 per cent, according to company business plans.
Before advising Mr Sunak, Lord Petitgas worked at major bank Morgan Stanley in 2022, after leading its international office in London. He was elevated to the House of Lords this month, having joined Downing Street as a business and investment adviser in April 2023.
Lord Petitgas joined Downing Street as a business adviser last April
The company’s £14bn debt pile has caused concern among politicians, with experts warning that bills would likely need to increase.
Despite little background in politics, Lord Petitgas has become an influential figure in Mr Sunak’s Downing Street operation. He was previously tasked with managing Mr Sunak’s reform of the energy market, and is well thought of by executives who have grown increasingly tired of poor relations between business and government.
One city source said Lord Petitgas had brought a welcome directness to discussions in Downing Street: “He would be ideal for managing a difficult situation. I’d say he is noticeably sharp-minded, gets to the point very quickly and is particularly candid around a roundtable.
“[He] brings a CEO mentality to a discussion – and does not appear bothered by typical English sensibilities – he will ask you to justify a point made in a meeting if it doesn’t add up in his mind.”
Another source said his management of tough characters had garnered him a strong reputation: “He is a good handler of demanding and tricky CEOs, and very good at dealing with business relations, which No 10 have struggled with previously. “He has a good understanding of how corporate finance works in a way the Civil Service don’t really get.” The source highlighted Lord Petitgas’s work with Mr Sunak’s energy grid reforms announced in the Autumn Statement as an example. Thames Water has been labelled one of the worst offenders for pollution by clean rivers campaigners – recently the company discharged raw sewage into rivers and streams at least 80 times in a single day.