What you need to know
KKR abandons Thames Water rescue
The private equity group KKR has pulled out of talks to rescue troubled Thames Water.
In a brief statement ,Thames Water said that KKR “would not proceed with its equity injection plans, and that the US private equity firm’s preferred partner status has now lapsed”.
Sir Adrian Montague, chairman of Thames Water, said: “Whilst today’s news is disappointing, we continue to believe that a sustainable recapitalisation of the company is in the best interests of all stakeholders and continue to work with our creditors and stakeholders to achieve that goal.”
FTSE 100 expected to open higher
Asian shares have edged higher overnight while the dollar fell to a six-week low, as erratic US trade policies spooked investors and hung over markets. The FTSE 100 is expected to open ten points higher when trading begins
Good morning and welcome to our live business coverage.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will give its latest forecast on Britain’s growth prospects at 8am. In March, the OECD, which represents 38 advanced economies, downgraded UK GDP growth this year and next due to escalating tariff wars.
It forecasts growth would be 0.3 percentage points lower than forecast this year at 1.4 per cent in 2025 and 0.1 percentage points lower next year at 1.2 per cent. Inflation forecasts were unchanged at 2.7 per cent this year and 2.3 per cent in 2026. Trade tensions have eased since then, but have started to ratchet up the end of last week.
Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, will give evidence before the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee about last month’s interest rate decision and monetary policy report at 10.15.
The MPC was split, with five members voting to reduce rates to 4.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent. Two members backed a half-point cut due to global trade disruption and lower energy prices, while another two voted to leave borrowing costs unchanged.
Today’s top business stories
• Commercial landlords have been warned they may have to repay “massive” sums received from insurance commissions after a High Court judge told the owner of London’s Trocadero Centre to return payments to a tenant.
• The pay of Stuart Machin, Marks & Spencer’s boss, climbed to £7.1 million thanks to an improved performance at the retailer before a cyberattack that is expected to hit profits by £300 million.
• The government’s plan to build up to 12 attack submarines and invest £15 billion in its nuclear warheads programme has boosted shares in UK defence companies.
• House prices rose more than expected in May and are now back to within a whisker of the record reached three years ago, with April’s decline looking increasingly like a blip.
• The world’s largest private equity firms could hold the key to London’s efforts to jump-start its flagging IPO market, City sources believe.
