Flushing Away the Profits?

Thames Water is a privatised English Water Company, serving London and its surrounding area. It's CEO has resigned and it's been announced the company is in a £10 billion 'black hole'. Thames Water, like its sister English Water Companies, have appeared to have focused all efforts, since privatisation, on massively rewarding their shareholders and CEOs. Water Companies have taken out substantial loans to do this (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/28/thames-water-in-crisis-talks-over-potential-10bn-black-hole-cost-possible-collapse). Now, the Water Companies are facing demands to update their Victorian infrastructure as well as ceasing discharging raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters. Bankruptcy seems a quite attractive option, as all profits have already been creamed off. The punters/ tax payers can pay for any upgrades.