‘We Are Not an Electricity Company’ – Woking Sells Off Energy Company to Reduce Debt

Published on: 23 Apr, 2026
Updated on: 23 Apr, 2026

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

Woking Borough Council has agreed to sell off its loss-making energy firm as it continues to clear the decks of the firms that wrecked its finances.

Woking Borough Council declared itself bankrupt with debts approaching £2.6 billion in 2023 largely on the back of investment decisions between 2016 and 2019 – and is now it being merged into the newly formed West Surrey Council.

This will burden the new authority from the off as it deals not only with the inherited mess from Woking but also the combined debts of Spelthorne, Runnymede, Surrey Heath.

As part of the Government’s deal to bail out the borough it was told to sell what it can and this deal for ThamesWey Central Milton Keynes Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ThamesWey Energy Ltd (TEL), is the latest.

Other high profile flagship regeneration projects including the town’s new Hilton Hotel and shopping centres are also lined up for sale with council big wigs describing it as the “sad” and “sobering” reality of the bankruptcy.

This deal marks the end of the line for the council’s near 20 year run as an energy company – during which it never turned a profit.

Cllr Dale Roberts

Announcing the steps to enable the sale was the borough’s portfolio holder for finance Cllr Dale Roberts (Lib Dem, St John’s).

He said this latest step represented the latest step in resolving Woking’s issues.

He told the Thursday, April 16 meeting: “The decision before members is part of a wider program of work over the past two or three years to understand and unwind a set of complex commercial structures inherited by this council.

He added: “It’s a significant step forwards.

“It supports the council’s debt reduction and its improvement and recovery.

“Its one of the clearest examples of the disciplined unwinding of the historic structures that we’ve been undertaking of the past few years.

“The company owes the council a significant sum. It’s balance-sheet insolvent.

“In practical terms that means the debt is not recoverable.

“In order to enable a sale, the company needs to be placed on solvent footing.

“The proposed debt for equity swap achieves exactly that by converting the council’s loan into share capital, allowing the business to be sold as a going concern.”

“This historic loss, associated with this investment, does not arise from the decision before council this evening.

“It reflects the structure, the scale and the financing of the company over many years, and the practical challenges of operating a stand alone scheme of this nature.”

The intention is to sell a site to a specialised electric heating company that can manage it as part of its wider network. The finances of the deal remain private.

Cllr Louise Morales

Cllr Louise Morales (Lib Dem, Hoe Valley), portfolio holder for planning, described the time members were taken to Milton Keynes and the promises made.

She said: “We were put on a bus and driven to Milton Keynes and shown huge empty spaces where houses were going to be built, that were going to be connected to the system, and then of course it would be profitable.

“I’ve been a councillor for 15 years. Council tax payers have been pouring money into this company and it has never made a profit.

“It might have connected to a few more properties but not enough to make it profitable.

“We haven’t been able to manage it from Woking because we are a local council.

“We are not an electricity company.”