Hong Kong’s CK Infrastructure has made a preliminary £7bn bid to take a majority stake in Thames Water, while indicating that it would require the troubled utility’s bondholders to take significant haircuts.

A major Hong Kong investor has lodged a £7bn bid to take a majority stake in Thames Water. CK Infrastructure, part of Li Ka-Shing's CK Hutchison conglomerate, submitted the offer earlier this month, according to the Financial Times.