UK to take over Gazprom's retail supply unit: press

The UK government will temporarily take over Gazprom's UK commercial supply unit to keep it financially above water amid the mounting backlash over the Ukraine war, Bloomberg reported March 21.

Gazprom will be forced to surrender its Gazprom Energy business to a special management team operated by the UK, according to an unnamed source cited by the newswire.

More than 30,000 UK commercial concerns have gas purchase agreements with Gazprom Energy, and the division supplies more than 20% of the the country's commercial gas demand. As a trading business, it sources its gas from the UK's national grid, so there is a degree of economic risk to the UK if the business is allowed to fail.

Its finances are understood to have collapsed as numerous UK businesses have cut ties over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. On March 20, The Sunday Times reported Gazprom was seeking a buyer to stem heavy losses. 

The newspaper said Gazprom Energy was looking at "multimillion-pound" gas supply deals being terminated with McDonald's, Siemens and waste management services firm Biffa. Several municipal councils in England also have asked for their contracts to be ended, according to the BBC. Gazprom Energy has collected £29mn ($38.3mn) from UK local authorities from 2016 to 2021, the BBC states.