Thames Water handed its new chief financial officer a £1m (US$1.35m) signing-on fee at the end of July, using emergency lending, even as the utility struggles under a debt pile of more than £20bn.
The payment to Steve Buck was part of a package to persuade him to join the troubled company, and was disclosed in a letter to parliament's Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The letter also revealed that the company had agreed controversial retention payouts to top executives.
Buck's seven-figure signing-on payment, described as delayed, came from emergency funding. Thames Water said the payment had been made as part of efforts to secure its financial future, though the company faces an uncertain outlook amid its massive debt burden.