The barbarians are at the gates of the sewage works | Nils Pratley

Choosing KKR as the preferred bidder for the UK's biggest water company may not fill Thames Water's workers with joy

• Thames Water names KKR as preferred bidder

The answer to too much private equity ownership at Thames Water, it turns out, is more private equity ownership.

Say hello to KKR, the preferred bidder for the UK's biggest water company. If you remember them as the original barbarians at the gate", the US private equity firm would probably point out that the reference to a leveraged buyout of a US biscuit company is more than 35 years old. These days, the relevant unit of KKR would like to be known as an infrastructure investor, which has a cuddlier ring.