Monday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, rail passengers, house prices

(Sharecast News) - One of Thames Water's big shareholders has given its backing to the embattled water company, after the surprise departure of its chief executive and crisis talks with the government over its viability. Thames Water, which is buckling under a £14bn debt burden and has embarked on an eight-year turnaround plan, is owned by a series of pension funds and other governments' sovereign wealth funds. The second-biggest shareholder is a UK pension fund for academics, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which holds about 20% and is the first investor to make public its support for the company. - Guardian Rail passengers across Britain have been warned to expect disruption this week as train drivers stage fresh industrial action. The drivers' union Aslef has called an overtime ban from Monday 3 July until the end of Saturday 8 July at 16 train operators around England, in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions on the railway. - Guardian

Banks are to be told by the Treasury that they must protect free speech amid an escalating row over the blacklisting of customers who hold controversial views. Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, is understood to be "deeply concerned" that overzealous lenders are closing down accounts because they disagree with customers' opinions and has asked City minister Andrew Griffith to investigate the issue. - Telegraph

Property sellers are being forced to slash their asking prices in droves as the housing market struggles under the weight of surging borrowing costs. A third of all homes for sale in the fourth week of June were listed with discounts on their asking prices - up from 18pc in the same week a year earlier and even higher than during the Covid crisis, according to property website Rightmove. - Telegraph

A top-ten accountancy firm has become the first in the UK to win investment backing from private equity and retain its partnership structure, in a landmark move that could pave the way for an influx of capital into the professional services sector. Moore Kingston Smith (MKS) will receive an undisclosed amount from the Dutch private equity group Waterland, which will become a financial partner. It is the first time a UK limited liability partnership has attracted backing from international investors while maintaining its legal structure. - The Times

Manufacturers boosted jobs in six of the eight regions in England and Wales last year as the struggling sector battled with labour shortages. Figures from Make UK, an industry body, and the professional services firm BDO showed that there were still 74,000 unfilled vacancies in the sector, creating a £6.5 billion economic gap that needed filling despite overall employment increasing last year. - The Times