Thames Water pays owner £131m

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The latest accounts of Thames reveal that it paid the huge dividend in the past six months to investment funds which are run by the finance house Macquarie, which bought the company two years ago.

The payout, up from £102 million in the prior year, comes as Thames is in the middle of negotiations with water regulator Ofwat. It is asking the regulator for an increase in water bills by 2014 of 16% before inflation.

That rise, after inflation, could see water bills in London leap to an unprecedented £360 a year. The payout also comes as Thames profits are under pressure from rising customer bad debts and the increased costs of its own borrowings.

It said profits in the half-year to the end of September fell marginally to £195 million. Water regulator Ofwat last month pledged to tackle Thames Water's bills hikes, which were the second biggest increases in the UK. Its bills have risen by a third in the past five years.

Thames Water leaks some 715 million litres of water every day - an amount enough to fill Wembley stadium two-thirds full daily.