As Thames Water’s creditors try to rally investors, where does the brand stand with the British public?

Thames Water’s lenders have drawn up a £1.5bn funding plan for the utility provider – and have called on other firms to join the rescue, claiming that it is a “critical step in stabilising the company.” Whether other firms participate or not, they have backstopped the plan – effectively assuring that the company will survive until at least October 2025. 

But in the wake of a 15,000-strong anti-pollution protest in London this past weekend, do the public want it to continue operating? 

YouGov BrandIndex data shows that, as of 2 November, Index scores (which track overall brand health) are at -15.7 among the general population. We can partially attribute this to poor opinion of water companies – the average for the sector is –6.8 - but Thames Water’s scores are twice as bad. Among Current Customers, these scores are even worse at –31.9. 

This most recent performance is comparatively good: the last time scores were this high was April 2024. We’re a far cry from 1 January 2022, when Thames Water was viewed in only a slightly-negative-to-neutral fashion by the public (-0.5) and quite well by its customers (7.0). 

A look at underlying measures such as Impression scores – which track general sentiment – compounds this: among the public, these scores are at –23.7; among its own customers, -41.3. Again, this is an improvement compared to other points in the year, but far off the public’s mild disdain (-2.6) and its clientele’s relative indifference (0.7) in January 2022. 

Thames Water’s Quality scores were at -17.6 on 2 November; scores among its own customers were twice as bad (-34.4).  Again, this is on an upward trajectory compared to other points of the year, but low compared to the beginning of 2022 (when scores were at –0.5 for the public and a relatively good 6.9 for its own customers). 

Thames Water has a little under a year of guaranteed operation. Beyond its financial problems, whether the utility provider can partially or fully come up from the depths between now and October 2025 may depend on how it addresses its poor public perception – and its own customer’s discontent.

This article originally appeared in City A.M.