GIANT WITH £10bn DEBT

Thames Water began as a state-owned authority in 1973

It was privatised in 1989 and joined the FTSE 100. In 2001 it was bought by German firm RWE

In 2006, the business was sold to Kemble Water Holdings – a consortium of investors led by controversial Australian bank Macquarie

An extremely complex structure involving nine firms was then set up

This includes two firms from the Cayman Islands tax haven

Bosses claim this structure is completely normal, but they have been criticised for creating a web of businesses and it has also become loaded with £10bn of debt