The UK government is looking to temporarily nationalise the retail supply arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, the supplier of more than a fifth of the UK’s commercial gas by volume, according to several reports.
Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail Ltd, which is ultimately majority owned by the Russian state, is likely to be taken into special administration regime if it fails, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
It provides gas and electricity to more than 30,000 commercial customers in the UK, including parts of the NHS and local councils.
The energy retailer had been trying to find a buyer after a number of large customers, including Siemens AG, McDonald’s Corp and Biffa PLC (LSE:BIFF), confirmed they were in talks to end their contracts, the Sunday Times reported.
The retailer’s parent company has not been affected by sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Gazprom’s chief executive Alexei Miller is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin and he has been targetted.