Thames Water, the UK utility that has become a buyout target after being put up for sale by German parent RWE, has shrugged off questions over its future ownership and embarked on a record round of fundraising.

The company is preparing to raise £600m (€888m) through a dual-tranche long-dated bond offering. Each tranche will consist of a £300m bond, which will be its largest debt issues since JP Morgan led a £330m deal eight years ago. It is the company's biggest fundraising exercise in its history.