Thames Water paid finance chief £1m sign-on fee
Thames Water paid its finance chief a £1 million sign-on fee despite the company facing risk of financial collapse, according to Sky News.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Thames Water has paid its finance chief a £1 million sign-on fee, despite the company facing the risk of financial collapse. The payment was made last month to Steve Buck, who joined the company in April 2025. According to reports, the money was drawn from an emergency borrowing facility, and the firm has previously warned that it could run out of money by the end of the year.
The company is labouring under a debt mountain of about £20 billion and is under intense pressure over its service standards, including leaks and pollution incidents, at a time when customers face mounting bills. Discussions are underway between the government, Thames Water, and its creditors over a solution that would allow the company to invest in new infrastructure while keeping bills under control. If no deal is reached, the company faces potential nationalisation.
The payment has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that executives should not be rewarded for failure. One political figure said: "I don't want to see executives rewarded for failure and I think what we've seen from Thames Water over recent weeks and months are increasingly desperate attempts to try and get their business in order."
Thames Water has defended the payment, saying it is struggling to retain and recruit senior staff and needs them to drive a turnaround. The company argues that even if the government takes over, the same problem will exist and executives will still need to be paid competitively.
The sign-on fee was delayed, partly as an incentive to keep Buck at the company, and was finally paid last month. The controversy comes as the company's future remains uncertain, with customers and politicians watching closely.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One | Sky News |
|---|---|---|
| Thames Water paid its finance chief a £1 million sign-on fee despite the company facing financial collapse. | ||
| Thames Water has a debt of about £20 billion. | · | |
| Thames Water says it needs to retain and recruit senior staff to drive a turnaround, and that this need would persist even under government takeover. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News focused on the financial desperation of Thames Water, highlighting that the payment was drawn from an emergency borrowing facility and that the firm had warned it could run out of money. It also included a political reaction criticising the payment, framing it as rewarding failure.
- “The money is understood to have been drawn from an emergency borrowing facility but the firm has previously warned that it could run out of money by the end of the year.”
- “I don't want to see executives rewarded for failure and I think what we've seen from Thames Water over recent weeks and months are increasingly desperate attempts to try and get their business in order.”
BBC ONE West provided more context on the company's debt and the risk of nationalisation, and included the company's defence that it needs to retain senior staff. The tone was more explanatory, with a business correspondent breaking down the controversy.
- “It's emerged that Thames Water recently paid its finance director a £1 million signing-on fee for joining the firm. That's despite the business having a £20 billion debt and facing financial collapse and possible nationalisation.”
- “It was delayed, partly as an incentive to keep him at the company and was finally paid last month.”
- “Thames Water itself points out that it's struggling to retain and recruit senior staff. It needs them to drive the turnaround.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.