Thames Water is one of the most highly indebted English water companies, according to Ofwat's ‘gearing’ measure

Gearing is a measure of how much debt the water company has relative to its size

0%

25

50

75

100

Thames Water

77.4%

Yorkshire Water

73.5

Northumbrian Water

69.7

Wessex Water

66.8

Anglian Water

65.0

Southern Water

64.0

South West Water

63.7

Severn Trent Water

60.0

United Utilities Water

58.0

60% maximum gearing

(Ofwat recommendation)

Gearing is a measure of how much debt the water company has relative to its size

0%

25

50

75

100

Thames Water

77.4%

Yorkshire Water

73.5

Northumbrian Water

69.7

Wessex Water

66.8

Anglian Water

65.0

Southern Water

64.0

South West Water

63.7

Severn Trent Water

60.0

United Utilities Water

58.0

60% maximum gearing

(Ofwat recommendation)

Guardian graphic. Source: Latest available company reports: Mar 2023 for Thames, Severn Trent and United Utilities, Sept 2022 for Wessex and Yorkshire, the rest from Mar 2022