Government mulls plans to nationalise Gazprom’s UK retail arm

The government is preparing to step in and nationalise Gazprom’s British supply arm, according to new reports.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail Ltd, which operates as Gazprom Energy, has come under increasing pressure from companies turning their backs on Russian business over the war in Ukraine.

Gazprom Energy is based in Manchester and London where it employs around 350 staff.

It supplies more than 30,000 business customers and accounts for about a fifth of the energy consumed by UK businesses, including councils and the NHS, but its clients are concentrated in industries such as ceramics, glass and steel.

Last month Gazprom Energy, whose ultimate parent is the Russian state-run Gazprom, was touted as a prime candidate to be taken into the UK’s special administration regime (SAR).

Ministers are reportedly drawing up plans to take over the UK arms in a move that could cost taxpayers billions of pounds, according to reports over the weekend.

It was recently reported Gazprom Energy had been trying to find a buyer to stave off collapse as many major clients sought to exit multi-million pound contracts in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Huge clients have led a mass exodus in the past few weeks, including McDonald’s, Siemens and Biffa.

Alongside departures in the business world, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told NHS England it must stop using Gazprom, while councils across the country have also been cutting ties.

Due to its size, Gazprom Energy is more likely to go straight into special administration than through Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort process that’s been used to re-allocate the customers of more than two dozen household suppliers since August.

So far only Bulb has been taken into SAR and remains in administration with a taxpayer loan of £1.7bn.

The move to take control of Gazprom Energy may happen as soon as this week.