Royal London caught up in the Thames Water crisis: Mutual insurer’s funds among most exposed to the troubled utility giant
Royal London’s funds are among those most exposed to bonds, or debt, issued by Thames Water, which have tumbled in value
The UK’s largest mutual insurer has been caught up in the Thames Water crisis.
Royal London manages about £150billion in assets on behalf of pension schemes, life insurance policyholders and investors.
But its funds are among those most exposed to bonds, or debt, issued by Thames Water, which have tumbled in value amid worries that the utilities giant could collapse under a mountain of liabilities totalling about £14billion.
About 10 of the 25 funds with the highest exposure to debt issued by the firm’s parent, Thames Water (Kemble) Finance, are run by Royal London, which has about 2m members.
The value of the bonds plunged last week amid growing fears about the company’s financial health and that it could be renationalised.
But Jonathan Platt, head of fixed income at Royal London Asset Management, said its exposure to Thames Water’s debtwas ‘small’.
