Thames Water spent £136m on securing emergency funding, leaked document suggests

‘Atypical expenditure’ document suggests utility’s costs over 12 months outstripped the £130m it paid in fines

Thames Water spent at least £136m on the effort to secure emergency funding over 12 months, according to a leaked document that suggests costs outstripped the £130m the struggling utility paid in fines.

The law firms Linklaters and Akin Gump received £45m and £26m respectively during the financial year to March 2025, and another 10 firms were paid more than £1m, according to a document listing “atypical expenditure” for the year, seen by the Guardian. It is the first time the fees paid by Thames Water have been detailed publicly.