Announcing that he would appeal against Tuesday’s ruling approving the plan, Mr Maynard said: “I stand by my evidence to the court that allowing Thames Water to take on £3 billion more debt is not in the interests of their millions of customers.
His comments came after Mr Justice Leech sanctioned a plan, known as the “company plan”, which allows the struggling utility to keep operating until 2026 by providing £1.5 billion of funding with a 9.75% interest rate, with a further £1.5 billion potentially available.
The court heard that it was due to run out of money by March 24 if the restructuring was not approved, with the company plan approved by creditors holding more than 75% of its Class A debt, which is worth about £11.5 billion and is the least risky class of bonds in its debt pile.
William Day, for Mr Maynard, said that Thames Water “has failed to show how the restructuring plan is in the public interests or customers’ interests.
At a hearing in London earlier this month, lawyers for Mr Maynard said that the company plan was a “poor short-term fix” and a “bridge to nowhere”, and that the company should be put into special administration (SAR) instead.
