Ofwat published no decision or consultation on the London & Valley Water proposal before 31 October 2026: its own news feed lists nothing on it up to its last item of 29 October, and The Guardian reported on 29 October that the deal still awaited a government decision; Ofwat's web pages themselves block automated and browser access, so they were not read directly.
The market resolves on a published Ofwat statement on ofwat.gov.uk setting out whether it supports the London & Valley Water proposal; launching a public consultation on the proposal counts as a decision, an interim update or a further request for information does not. If that source has not published in time, BBC News and the Financial Times settle it.
We found three water companies in the same position since 1989. We looked at every water and sewerage company in England and Wales since privatisation whose owner could no longer carry its debt, and where control was forced to change or a court approved a restructuring. We asked whether it went into special administration or was solved another way. A fourth case, Welsh Water in 2001, fits but could not be confirmed on sources we trust, so it is left out. Three cases are too few for us to show a History figure.