The UK water industry is rarely out of the headlines, whether for operational performance issues or reports of perpetual financial distress. It may therefore be more than a coincidence that the UK government has chosen now to introduce new rules for the special administration regime (SAR) that applies to water companies.
In common with other utilities and key public infrastructure, maintaining continuity of service in the event that a private-sector provider becomes insolvent is a public policy priority. If a provider has a monopoly, as water companies do in specific geographies of the UK, this priority becomes critical. SARs are used sparingly. The most recent high-profile example in practice was Bulb Energy in the fragmented UK…
