Britain’s largest water company, Thames Water, is desperately fighting for extra cash after paying millions in dividends to its shareholders and bonuses to its top executives in recent years.

Shareholders of the company said on Thursday that the company’s business plan was “not investment-worthy” due to industry-related regulations, after previously agreeing to an emergency financing package.

The gloomy development underscores the growing financial problems of the company, which is sitting on a mountain of debt of 14.7 billion pounds.

Water regulator Ofwat is urging the company to improve its financial position as concerns about its future grow.

Despite the difficulties, Thames Water announced in December that it had paid a dividend of £37.5 million to a parent company.

When asked by Ofwat why the company wanted to justify this move, Thames explained that the money had been transferred to settle its debts.

In the year to March 2023, the company paid dividends of approximately £45 million, compared to a total of £53.9 million in the two years prior to that.

However, the company emphasizes that it has not paid any dividends to “external shareholders” for at least five years.

Thames Water, which has around 16 million customers in London and south-east London, is owned by a consortium of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

The company had previously been owned by a consortium led by Australian financial services provider Macquarie for around a decade since 2008. During this time, it accumulated debts of around £10 billion but also paid billions in dividends.

According to Liberal Democrat investigations, the company has also paid out bonuses, perks and bonuses worth around £3.7 million to its executives over the past three years.

Total executive remuneration, including basic salaries, amounted to over £10.6 million over the last four financial years.

Last year, three executives took home more than £2.4 million.

Meanwhile, Thames Water was among the water companies that had to pay back money to customers after failing to meet various performance targets set by Ofwat.

The review, published in September, had expected a refund of around £100 million for failure to meet targets on reducing leaks, pollution, supply disruptions, mains repairs and drinking water quality.