Thames Water creditors seek board control as UK tightens supply-chain rules
Thames Water creditors plan board changes to avoid nationalisation; UK tightens supply-chain security and gains Ukraine battlefield data access.
Creditors of Thames Water are preparing to install four new board members if the government permits them to take formal ownership of the struggling utility. The move is designed to steer the company away from nationalisation under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, according to reports in the Financial Times.
In a separate development, activist hedge fund Saba, led by Boaz Weinstein, is seeking to place its own candidates on the board of a Baillie Gifford investment trust. This marks the latest escalation in the U.S. billionaire's campaign against the sector.
The British government is also pursuing legislative changes that would allow it to block companies from purchasing products from high-risk suppliers. The proposal follows news that a hacking group had shut down a small energy facility, underscoring concerns about supply-chain vulnerabilities.
Additionally, Britain is set to become the first foreign country to access a large repository of Ukrainian battlefield data. This data is used to train AI models for identifying and striking Russian targets, and will be shared under a broad technology partnership between the two nations.