Thames Water has staved off effective government ownership after an unsuccessful legal challenge to its financial restructuring.
The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a £3bn loan intended to temporarily sort out its finances while the company raises more private investment.
The decision backs the High Court judgment of last month and means the UK’s biggest water supplier is unlikely to be taken into special administration – a form of government control – in the coming days.
Without the loan, Thames Water said it would run out of money on 24 March.
The appeal was launched by Lib Dem MP Charlie Maynard and a small group of Thames Water creditors.
Those creditors had objected to the loan as they faced being wiped out completely in the financial restructuring.
The company is struggling under a £16bn debt pile.
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