Thames Water says without steep bill increase it’s ‘neither financeable nor investible’

Debt-laden company tells Ofwat if it cannot charge customers 59% more, it would prevent turnaround and recovery of company'

Thames Water has said it will be unable to recover from its funding crisis if it is blocked from charging customers significantly more, as it proposed to pile an extra 228 a year on to household bills.

The debt-laden company said the increase to bills that has been proposed by the industry regulator, Ofwat, leaves its activities neither financeable nor investible".