On 27 August 2025 Thames Water and the water sector regulator announced the agreement of scheduled payments in relation to penalty notices issued by Ofwat for two enforcement cases on 28 May 2025. Ofwat imposed two penalties on the company, one of £104.5 million from the investigation into its wastewater business, and one of £18.2 million from the investigation into dividend payments the company had made.

While the penalties were originally due to be paid by 20 August 2025, legislation sets out that a company can apply to Ofwat to request a payment plan for an enforcement penalty it has received.

Following an application from Thames Water, Ofwat agreed a payment plan with Thames Water which will see the payment of 20% of the two total penalties paid no later than 30 September 2025, a sum of £24.5 million.

Prior to making the first payment scheduled under the Payment Plan, Thames Water and its subsidiary, Thames Water Super Senior Issuer PLC yesterday launched a fourth set of consent requests seeking the consent of the super senior creditors to designate the Payment Plan agreed with Ofwat in August 2025 as an approved payment plan.

The Fourth Consent Requests have a voting date of 19 September 2025 and follow three previous sets of consent requests which were approved by creditors in April, May and July 2025.

The payment of the remaining 80% of the penalties is due to take place on the earliest of three possible events:

Announcing the requests, Thames Water reiterated its position that it continues to work closely with stakeholders to secure a market led solution. 

Thames Water announced on 15 August it had drawn down the remaining available sum of the first £1.5 billion tranche of emergency funding under the restructuring plan proposed by the company in connection with implementing the liquidity extension transaction sanctioned by the High Court on 18 February 2025.