CMS advises USS on increased investment in Thames Water

International law firm CMS has advised Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the sole corporate trustee of one of the UK's largest pension funds, on its acquisition of an additional 8.77% stake in Kemble Water Holdings Limited, the holding company of Thames Water Utilities Limited (Thames Water), from investors Wren House Infrastructure LP. This will take USS’s holding in the company to nearly 20%. 

USS first became an investor in Thames Water in 2017, attracted by the opportunity to support the long-term investment needs of the business. It is an experienced investor in regulated infrastructure assets, with existing investments in both Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited and NATS in the UK as well as other regulated assets around the world.

USS’s investment in Kemble Water Holdings Limited will be the largest single investment in the £82.2bn (as at 31 March 2021) portfolio managed by USS’s investment management subsidiary. It also further builds on USS’s UK investments.

The CMS team was led by Nick Blair with invaluable support from Jennifer Louch and Aoife Fenlon (Corporate); Aaron Fairhurst and Yao An Chua (Tax); Thomas Forman (Regulatory); and Brian Sher and Louisa Mottaz (Competition).