Centrica plc (CNA.L) - Company Research

Last Updated: 1 May 2026

Centrica plc (LSE: CNA) is the FTSE 100 owner of British Gas and one of the largest integrated energy businesses in the UK and Ireland, combining household and business energy supply, home services, gas and power trading, and a portfolio of energy infrastructure including a 20% stake in EDF’s UK operating nuclear fleet, a new 15% stake in Sizewell C, the Rough gas storage facility, a 50% interest in the Isle of Grain LNG terminal and Spirit Energy upstream production. FY2025 results (released 19 February 2026) showed adjusted EBITDA of £1.4 bn (2024: £2.3 bn), adjusted operating profit of £0.8 bn (2024: £1.6 bn), adjusted basic EPS of 11.2p (2024: 19.0p) and a statutory basic loss per share of 1.5p, with the full-year dividend lifted 22% to 5.5p (interim 1.83p + proposed final 3.67p) and the £2 bn share buyback programme — including the £800 m extension announced in 2024 — completed in 2025. The board paused further buybacks to redirect capital into the new infrastructure pipeline: £1.3 bn capped commitment to Sizewell C (15% stake, FID reached 22 July 2025; initial £376 m drawn at completion), £0.2 bn equity into the 50% Grain LNG joint venture with Energy Capital Partners (£1.5 bn enterprise value, completed late 2025), the planned Rough storage redevelopment (subject to a UK government support model) and accelerated nuclear life extensions for Heysham 1, Hartlepool, Heysham 2 and Torness. UK Home Energy Supply ended 2025 with 7.5 m UK household customers (group total ~7.96 m) — the first year of customer growth in over a decade — though the Energy Supply EBIT margin compressed to 1.9% (2024: 2.7%) as Ofgem reconciliations, warmer weather and tighter retail competition all bit. The 2026 share price has traded a wide 144–220p range; at ~210p (30 April 2026) the market cap is ~£9.4 bn. The 2026 AGM is on 7 May 2026 in Cardiff, where the board will request renewed buyback authority. This report covers every material angle — without analyst opinions or price targets. For live pricing see our live charts, upcoming releases on the economic calendar, and discussion on the ChartsView forum.

1. Company Snapshot

Company	Centrica plc (parent of British Gas, Centrica Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Centrica Energy Storage+, Centrica Power, Spirit Energy, Bord Gáis)
Ticker	LSE: CNA (FTSE 100)
Sector / Industry	Utilities — Integrated energy: retail supply, services, gas and power trading, gas storage, LNG, nuclear and upstream
HQ	Millstream, Maidenhead Road, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 5GD, UK
Group CEO	Chris O’Shea (Group CEO since 14 April 2020; previously Group CFO from November 2018)
Group CFO	Russell O’Brien
Chair	Scott Wheway (Independent)
Founded	1997 (demerged from British Gas plc)
Employees	~21,000 (FY25)
UK household customers	~7.5 m UK; 7.96 m group (UK + Ireland), +1% YoY in 2025
Reporting segments (post-2024 re-segmentation)	Retail / Optimisation / Infrastructure
Sub-segments	Retail: British Gas Energy (Home), British Gas Services & Solutions, Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica Business Solutions. Optimisation: Centrica Energy (gas & power trading). Infrastructure: Spirit Energy (upstream), Centrica Energy Storage+ (Rough), Grain LNG (50%), Centrica Nuclear (20% stake in EDF UK fleet), Sizewell C (15%), Centrica Smart Meter Assets (MAP).
Fiscal year end	31 December
Share price (30 Apr 2026)	~209.8p
52-week range	144.30p — 220.20p
Market cap (30 Apr 2026)	~£9.35 bn
Shares in issue (~)	~4.53 bn
FY2025 group revenue	~£19–20 bn (Centrica reports total Group revenue including business performance; 2024 reported revenue ~£19.91 bn)
FY2025 adjusted EBITDA	£1.417 bn (2024: £2.305 bn; −39%)
FY2025 adjusted operating profit	£0.8 bn (2024: £1.6 bn)
FY2025 adjusted basic EPS	11.2p (2024: 19.0p)
FY2025 statutory basic EPS	(1.5)p loss (2024: 25.7p profit)
FY2025 dividend	5.5p total (1.83p interim + 3.67p proposed final); +22% YoY
FY2025 share buyback	£0.8 bn deployed in 2025; £2 bn cumulative programme completed; further buybacks paused
Adjusted net cash (31 Dec 2025)	£1.5 bn (2024: £2.9 bn)
2025 capex	£1.2 bn (2024: £0.6 bn) — Sizewell C, Grain LNG, Smart Meter Assets
Website	centrica.com / britishgas.co.uk

2. Bull Case vs Bear Case

Bull Case	Bear Case
Strategic pivot from a cyclical, retail-led story to a regulated/long-dated infrastructure mix: Sizewell C (15%, capped £1.3 bn, real ROE 10.8% fixed through construction, 12%+ levered IRR), Grain LNG (50% of a £1.5 bn EV asset with ~£100 m EBITDA share through 2026–28), Rough redevelopment optionality, MAP rollout. Management is targeting £1.7 bn EBITDA by end-2028 and £2.0 bn by 2030.	FY25 was an earnings reset: adjusted EBITDA −39% to £1.417 bn, AOP −50% to £0.8 bn, adjusted EPS −41% to 11.2p, statutory swung to a 1.5p loss. The 2026 outlook for Optimisation (~£250 m EBITDA) is below the previous £300–400 m range, signalling continued trading-margin compression as gas/power volatility normalises.
Dividend up +22% to 5.5p (2024: 4.5p) on a progressive policy; balance sheet still in net cash (£1.5 bn at 31 Dec 2025) even after returning £1.1 bn to shareholders in 2025 and stepping up capex.	Buyback paused: management completed the £2 bn programme but stopped extending it, citing the “quality of investment opportunities”. The decision sits on top of a £1.4 bn YoY decline in adjusted net cash and £0.2 bn of free-cash outflow vs £1.0 bn inflow in 2024.
Customer growth: UK Home Energy reached ~7.5 m customers (~+1% YoY), the first year of net growth in over a decade; helped by 91k customers picked up via Ofgem “supplier of last resort” transfers from Rebel Energy and Tomato Energy in 2025.	Octopus Energy is now decisively the largest UK household supplier with ~24% of the gas and electricity market and >8 m UK customers (April 2026). British Gas at ~20.3% electricity share has been overtaken; Octopus continues adding ~2,500 customers/day. Kraken-led pricing and service quality is structural pressure.
Nuclear life extensions: in September 2025 EDF extended Heysham 1 / Hartlepool by one year (now generating to March 2028) and Heysham 2 / Torness by two years (now to March 2030). Cumulatively since December 2024 this is +60 TWh, of which Centrica’s 20% share is ~12 TWh of additional generation.	Energy Profits Levy and Electricity Generator Levy continue to bite: oil & gas earnings face 78% headline (30% CT + 10% supplementary + 38% EPL); the EGL of 45% applies to nuclear and renewable receipts above £77.94/MWh. Nuclear AOP fell to £353 m in 2024 from £536 m in 2023 largely due to lower achieved price plus EGL.
Hydrogen / storage option: Centrica is committing to up to £2 bn over time on Rough redevelopment, working with Wood and Exceed on FEED, and joined SSE/Equinor/National Gas in February 2026 in the Humber Hydrogen consortium pursuing ~£500 m of UK hydrogen transport & storage funding.	Rough redevelopment FID is conditional on a UK government support model; storage activities were paused during 2025 (a key driver of the Infrastructure EBITDA fall to £0.7 bn from £1.4 bn). Without a regulatory underpin, the project may not get past FEED.
30 April 2026: Ceres Power announced a Delta Electronics & Centrica partnership to deploy solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for off-grid energy generation, targeting data-centre and energy-intensive industrial demand in the UK and Europe — an additional commercial-scale optionality channel.	UK regulatory and political risk: Ofgem default tariff cap (re-set quarterly; Q2 2026 cap £1,641 typical Direct Debit, −6.6% QoQ), windfall taxation, fuel poverty politics and the 2022–23 windfall “super-profit” episode (£3.99 bn adjusted EBITDA in 2022) all colour public and political reception of every results print.

3. What Does This Company Actually Do?

Centrica is a vertically integrated energy group built around three reporting segments: Retail (the customer-facing energy supply, services and SME businesses), Optimisation (the gas and power trading platform Centrica Energy) and Infrastructure (gas storage, LNG, upstream, nuclear and the meter-asset book). The company moved to this three-segment framework in late 2024 to give investors a cleaner read on regulated/contracted cash flows versus customer earnings versus trading earnings.

Segment	What sits inside it	FY25 adj. EBITDA	FY25 AOP
Retail	British Gas Energy (UK household supply, ~7.5 m customers); British Gas Services & Solutions (UK’s largest boiler installer/repair, HomeCare, Hive smart-home); Bord Gáis Energy (Republic of Ireland); Centrica Business Solutions (UK and Ireland SME / I&C supply and energy services).	£0.6 bn (flat YoY)	£0.4 bn (2024: £0.5 bn)
Optimisation	Centrica Energy — the wholesale gas and power trading, route-to-market and origination platform (formerly Centrica Energy Trading; Aalborg, Copenhagen, London, Houston, Singapore). Provides PPAs, LNG cargoes, gas portfolio optimisation and methane-emissions-certified gas (e.g. the May 2026 Seneca Resources MiQ certificates deal).	£0.2 bn (2024: £0.4 bn)	£0.2 bn (2024: £0.3 bn)
Infrastructure	Centrica Power (20% stake in EDF’s UK operating nuclear fleet: Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hartlepool, Torness; plus 15% Sizewell C); Centrica Energy Storage+ (Rough); 50% Grain LNG; Spirit Energy (Morecambe Hub upstream + Morecambe Net Zero CCS development); Centrica Smart Meter Assets (MAP).	£0.7 bn (2024: £1.4 bn)	£0.3 bn (2024: £0.8 bn)

Approximate FY25 AOP mix (segment AOP as reported, with Group/other recharges absorbed): Retail ~50%, Infrastructure ~37%, Optimisation ~13%. Adjusted EBITDA mix is more even at ~Retail 41% / Infrastructure 47% / Optimisation 12% because Infrastructure carries materially higher depreciation (Sizewell C, Grain LNG, MAP).

Customer-facing brand: British Gas remains the marquee retail brand (founded 1812), with a ~20.3% UK domestic electricity supply share at end-2025 / early 2026 (now second-largest behind Octopus). Bord Gáis Energy is a meaningful Republic of Ireland retailer. Hive provides the smart-home hardware (thermostats, plugs, sensors) layered on top.

Services franchise: British Gas Services & Solutions installs more domestic boilers than any other UK provider, runs the country’s largest dispatch engineer fleet (HomeCare maintenance, on-demand repairs, electrical breakdown, plumbing), and is increasingly bundling warranty partnerships with leading boiler/appliance OEMs as a recurring revenue stream.

Centrica Business Solutions serves the UK and Ireland SME and I&C end of the market — energy supply, on-site solar/battery, EV charging, energy-as-a-service, demand response (DSR aggregation) and behind-the-meter optimisation.

Trading: Centrica Energy (the renamed trading book) runs gas and power origination, route-to-market services, LNG cargo trading, balancing and PPAs across UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Methane-emissions-certified gas (such as the long-term MiQ-certified agreement with Seneca Resources signed in 2026) is a growing line.

Infrastructure: Centrica owns 20% of EDF’s UK operating nuclear fleet (Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hartlepool, Torness) plus a new 15% stake in Sizewell C; 100% of the Rough gas storage facility (operated through Centrica Energy Storage+); 50% of the Isle of Grain LNG terminal (with ECP, completed late 2025); 100% of Spirit Energy (Morecambe Hub gas production + Morecambe Net Zero carbon-storage development); and the Centrica Smart Meter Assets MAP business.

4. The Business Model

• Retail margin (cap-and-headroom): UK Home Energy Supply is regulated by the Ofgem default tariff cap (re-set quarterly; Q2 2026 cap £1,641/yr typical Direct Debit, −6.6% QoQ; unit rates 24.67p/kWh electricity, 5.74p/kWh gas; standing charges 57.21p/day electricity, 29.09p/day gas). The cap is built around an “Earnings Before Interest and Tax allowance” equivalent to ~1.9% of revenue. British Gas Energy delivered a 1.9% EBIT margin in 2025 (2024: 2.7%) — in line with the regulatory allowance, with deviations driven by weather, hedging and bad debt. Services & Solutions earns higher margins on contracted and on-demand work.
• Trading margin (volatility-driven): Optimisation EBITDA was £0.4 bn in 2024 and £0.2 bn in 2025; management has guided ~£250 m for 2026, below the previous medium-term £300–400 m range. Earnings here scale with European gas/power volatility, LNG-cargo arbitrage, weather-driven balancing and origination spreads.
• Infrastructure margin (regulated/contracted):
  • Sizewell C: capped £1.3 bn equity, real ROE 10.8% fixed through construction, expected RAB ~£8 bn by commercial operations, levered IRR 12%+. Initial £376 m drawn at FID completion in late 2025; cumulative draw expected £500–600 m through end-2028.
  • Grain LNG (50%): Centrica equity ~£200 m, EV £1.5 bn, ~£1.1 bn non-recourse project finance debt. Centrica share of EBITDA expected ~£100 m/yr 2026–28 with cash distributions ~£20 m/yr on average. Capacity 100% contracted to 2029, >70% to 2038, >50% to 2045 — very long-dated revenue.
  • Nuclear (20% of EDF UK fleet): Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hartlepool, Torness all received life extensions during 2024–25; Heysham 1 / Hartlepool now to March 2028, Heysham 2 / Torness to March 2030. Centrica’s 20% share of the cumulative ~+60 TWh extension is ~12 TWh of additional generation. Earnings sensitive to UK power prices and the 45% Electricity Generator Levy on receipts above £77.94/MWh.
  • Rough storage: ~50% UK gas storage capacity. Returned to service in late 2022 after an eight-year mothball; full FID for the long-term hydrogen-storage redevelopment (up to ~16 TWh hydrogen capacity, up to £2 bn over time) is dependent on a UK government “cap-and-floor”-style support model that has not yet been finalised.
  • MAP (Smart Meter Assets): install/own/lease ~1 m new smart meters per year on regulated index-linked rentals.
  • Spirit Energy: being narrowed to the Morecambe Hub (100% Centrica via Spirit) plus the Morecambe Net Zero CCS development; producing North-Sea assets (Cygnus 15%, Greater Markham Area, Southern North Sea) sold to Serica Energy in late 2025 for ~£98 m total transaction value (£57 m headline + £41 m decommissioning transfer); commercial effective date 1 January 2025; expected to complete H2 2026.
• Capital allocation framework: progressive ordinary dividend (now 5.5p, +22% YoY); £2 bn cumulative buyback completed in 2025 (final £800 m extension absorbed, then paused); investment focus shifted to Sizewell C, Grain LNG, Rough/hydrogen, MAP and nuclear extensions; capex stepped up to £1.2 bn in 2025 from £0.6 bn in 2024 with up to ~£800 m/yr indicated through 2028.
• Subsidy & regulatory dependency:
  • Ofgem default tariff cap is the structural regulator of British Gas Energy economics (Q2 2026 cap £1,641 typical DD, −6.6% QoQ).
  • UK Energy Profits Levy: 38% on UK oil & gas profits, on top of the 30% corporation tax + 10% supplementary charge (78% headline). The EPL applies to Spirit Energy upstream earnings.
  • UK Electricity Generator Levy: 45% on nuclear/renewable receipts above £77.94/MWh. Material to nuclear adjusted operating profit (Nuclear AOP fell from £536 m in 2023 to £353 m in 2024 on lower achieved prices and the EGL).
  • Sizewell C: receives a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) treatment with a real allowed return on equity of 10.8% fixed through construction.
  • Rough hydrogen redevelopment: depends on a UK government Hydrogen Transport & Storage Business Model. The Humber Hydrogen consortium (Centrica + SSE + Equinor + National Gas, formed Feb 2026) is competing for ~£500 m of public funding.
  • Centrica is also a beneficiary of the UK’s smart-meter rollout policy (MAP rentals) and of UK government Heat Pump Grant / boiler upgrade schemes that flow through British Gas Services & Solutions installs.
• Moat: British Gas brand recognition (over 200 years), the largest UK domestic engineer field force, ownership of strategic UK gas storage (Rough), 20% of the UK’s currently-operating nuclear fleet, regulated MAP economics, and the trading platform giving optionality on European energy.

5. Financial Health

Five-year history (Centrica re-segmented in late 2024; revenue in £bn unless noted):

Metric	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Reported revenue (£bn)	~14.6	~26.0	~26.5	~19.9	~19–20
Adjusted EBITDA (£bn)	1.85	3.99	~4.4	2.305	1.417
Adjusted operating profit (£bn)	~0.95	~3.30	~3.27	~1.6	~0.8
Adjusted basic EPS (p)	~4.1	~33.4	~33.4	19.0	11.2
Statutory basic EPS (p)	(15.5)	(7.3)	~71.6	25.7	(1.5)
Total dividend (p)	1.0	3.0	4.0	4.5	5.5
Adjusted net cash (£bn)	~0.7	~1.2	~2.7	2.9	1.5
Capex (£bn)	~0.4	~0.5	~0.5	0.6	1.2
Capital returned (buyback + DPS)	~£55 m	~£0.4 bn	~£1.5 bn	~£1.4 bn	~£1.1 bn

Notes: 2022 included an unusually large unrealised hedge mark-to-market loss in statutory results that reversed in 2023 (statutory operating profit ~£6.5 bn in 2023 reflected the unwind). Centrica’s 2022 adjusted EBITDA of £3.99 bn is the “super-profit” year that drove the public/political windfall debate. 2024 revenue figure (£19.91 bn) per published group revenue; 2025 revenue rounded pending detail in the full Annual Report.

Half-year and full-year segment AOP (last 5 reporting periods):

Period	Group adj. EBITDA	Retail AOP	Optimisation AOP	Infrastructure AOP	Group AOP
FY 2023	~£4.4 bn	~£0.8 bn	~£1.7 bn	~£0.8 bn	~£3.3 bn
FY 2024	£2.305 bn	£0.5 bn	£0.3 bn	£0.8 bn	£1.6 bn
H1 2024	£1.4 bn	£0.2 bn	£0.3 bn	£0.5 bn	£1.0 bn
H1 2025	£0.9 bn	£0.3 bn	£0.1 bn	£0.2 bn	£0.5 bn
FY 2025	£1.417 bn	£0.4 bn	£0.2 bn	£0.3 bn	£0.8 bn

2026 guidance (per management at FY25 results): Optimisation EBITDA tracking ~£250 m (below the previous £300–400 m sustainable range); Infrastructure EBITDA £500–650 m with MAP + Sizewell C + Grain LNG together contributing ~£175 m. Group EBITDA path: £1.7 bn target by end-2028 and ~£2.0 bn by 2030, supported by transformation, infrastructure investment and continued nuclear life extensions.

6. Valuation & Market Data

Metric	Value (sourced)	As at
Share price (LSE)	~209.8p	30 Apr 2026
52-week high	~220.20p	2026 (intra-year)
52-week low	~144.30p	2025 (post-FY25 trading concerns)
Market cap	~£9.35 bn	30 Apr 2026
Shares in issue (~)	~4.53 bn	End-Apr 2026 (post-buyback completion)
Enterprise value (approx)	~£7.9 bn (mkt cap £9.35 bn − adj. net cash £1.5 bn; subject to leases & pension deficit £295 m)	30 Apr 2026
P/E (trailing, on adj. EPS 11.2p)	~18.7×	30 Apr 2026
P/E (trailing, on statutory loss EPS −1.5p)	n/m (loss)	30 Apr 2026
EV / FY25 adj. EBITDA	~5.6× (£7.9 bn / £1.417 bn)	30 Apr 2026
EV / FY24 adj. EBITDA	~3.4× (£7.9 bn / £2.305 bn)	Comparable
Dividend per share (FY25 declared)	5.5p (1.83p interim + 3.67p final)	FY25
Trailing dividend yield	~2.6–2.9%	30 Apr 2026
Final dividend ex-date	10 April 2026 (record); pay 14 May 2026	FY25 final
Adjusted net cash	£1.5 bn	31 Dec 2025
IAS 19 pension deficit	£295 m	31 Dec 2025
Buyback status	£2 bn cumulative programme completed in 2025; further buybacks paused; AGM (7 May 2026) seeks renewed authority	FY25
Short interest	Not separately disclosed by Centrica; UK FCA short-position public register shows no individual disclosable short positions >0.5% as at end-Apr 2026	End-Apr 2026

EV is approximate — Centrica reports adjusted net cash, but full enterprise value would also factor in lease liabilities and the pension deficit; dividend yield depends on intraday price.

7. What Are They Building / What’s Coming?

• Sizewell C (15% stake; capped £1.3 bn). Final Investment Decision reached 22 July 2025; ~£38 bn 3.2 GW project. UK Government took 44.9%, La Caisse 20%, Centrica 15%, EDF 12.5%, Amber Infrastructure 7.6%. Centrica drew an initial ~£376 m at FID completion in Q4 2025; cumulative draw expected £500–600 m through end-2028. Real ROE 10.8% fixed through construction; expected RAB ~£8 bn at commercial operations.
• Grain LNG (50% JV with Energy Capital Partners). £1.5 bn EV acquisition from National Grid; Centrica equity ~£200 m; ~£1.1 bn non-recourse project finance debt. Completed in late 2025. ~£100 m share of EBITDA per annum 2026–28; cash distributions ~£20 m/yr on average. Capacity 100% contracted to 2029, >70% to 2038, >50% to 2045.
• Rough hydrogen redevelopment (up to ~£2 bn). FEED with Wood Group (June 2024) and Tier-1 partner Exceed (November 2024) progressing toward up to ~16 TWh hydrogen-storage capacity. Final Investment Decision conditional on UK government support model. Humber Hydrogen consortium (Centrica + SSE + Equinor + National Gas) launched February 2026 to compete for ~£500 m of UK Hydrogen Transport & Storage Business Model funding.
• Nuclear life extensions (20% of EDF UK fleet). September 2025: Heysham 1 / Hartlepool extended one year to March 2028; Heysham 2 / Torness extended two years to March 2030. Cumulative extensions since December 2024 add ~+60 TWh group / ~12 TWh at Centrica’s 20% share.
• Spirit Energy reshape. Sale of Cygnus 15%, Greater Markham Area and Southern North Sea producing interests to Serica Energy — ~£98 m total transaction value (£57 m headline + £41 m decommissioning transfer); commercial effective date 1 January 2025; expected to complete H2 2026 subject to regulatory approvals. Spirit Energy refocuses on Morecambe Hub gas (East Irish Sea: North Morecambe, South Morecambe, Rhyl) and on developing Morecambe Net Zero (CCS).
• Centrica Smart Meter Assets (MAP). Targeting ~1 m new smart meter installations per annum on regulated index-linked rentals; book scaling materially through 2026–28.
• Solid oxide fuel cells (Ceres / Delta partnership). 30 April 2026: Ceres Power announced a Delta Electronics & Centrica partnership to deploy SOFCs targeting the data-centre and energy-intensive industrial market across the UK and Europe, launching with off-grid generation. A new commercial route-to-market for distributed clean generation.
• Methane-emissions-certified gas trading. Centrica Energy and Seneca Resources signed a first-of-its-kind long-term MiQ-certified methane-emissions agreement during 2026 — opening a premium-quality gas product line for European industrial customers.
• British Gas Services & Solutions OEM warranty partnerships. New recurring revenue lines emerged in 2025; Hive smart-home stack continues to integrate.
• Ireland (Bord Gáis Energy). Continues incremental customer growth in the Republic of Ireland market.

8. Competitive Landscape

The UK domestic energy supply market is dominated by six suppliers, who collectively held ~92% of the domestic electricity and gas markets in Q2 2025. Octopus Energy overtook British Gas as the largest UK household supplier in late 2023 (after acquiring Shell Energy’s domestic book) and has continued to gain share. Octopus reported >8 m UK customers as of 24 April 2026 and is described by Cornwall Insight / Ofgem as holding ~24% of both electricity and gas markets.

Supplier	UK domestic electricity market share	Notes
Octopus Energy	~24%	Largest UK household supplier; Kraken platform; 8 m+ UK customers (Apr 2026); acquired Shell Energy retail (2023) and First Utility (Shell’s previous brand). Adding ~2,500 customers/day.
British Gas (Centrica)	~20.3%	~7.5 m UK customers; FY25 saw first net customer growth in >10 years (+91k from Rebel/Tomato SoLR transfers).
E.ON Next	~16.8%	UK arm of E.ON SE.
OVO Energy	~13%	Independent; consolidated SSE retail.
EDF Energy	~10.9%	UK retail arm of EDF; also nuclear generation co-owner.
ScottishPower	~6–8% (estimated)	Iberdrola UK arm; balance to ~92%.

Adjacent competition. Beyond domestic supply, Centrica Energy competes with European gas/power trading houses (Vitol, Trafigura, Gunvor, Equinor Trading, RWE Supply & Trading, EDF Trading, Shell Trading); Centrica Business Solutions competes with EDF Energy, ScottishPower, Drax B2B, Engie, ENGIE Impact, Schneider Electric and Centrica’s own former US-listed peer Direct Energy (sold to NRG in 2021). British Gas Services & Solutions competes with HomeServe (privatised 2022), Domestic & General, and an increasingly fragmented field of regional installers.

Infrastructure peers. SSE plc (large UK power generation + networks), National Grid (transmission/distribution), Drax (biomass/CCS), and EDF (UK nuclear; France-listed parent) are the closest UK-listed comparables across pieces of the value chain. Internationally, RWE, Électricité de France, Ácciona, Íberdrola, Engie and Enel compete in pieces of the integrated-utility space.

9. Leadership and Ownership

Name	Role	Notes
Chris O’Shea	Group Chief Executive Officer	Group CEO since 14 April 2020 (formally confirmed July 2020); previously Group CFO from 18 November 2018. Glasgow University graduate. Re-elected at AGM on annual basis. Total remuneration ~£4.7 m for 2024 (per public reporting); shareholder dissent on remuneration noted in 2025 AGM season.
Russell O’Brien	Group Chief Financial Officer	Joined as CFO; oversaw the September 2024 segmentation revamp and the FY25 capital allocation reset.
Scott Wheway	Independent Non-Executive Chair	Chairman of the Board.
Other Executive Directors / ELT	Various (UK Retail, Centrica Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Infrastructure)	Senior leadership runs the new three-segment structure.

Insider transactions (last 12 months):

Date	Name	Role	Action	Shares	Approx price	Approx value	Type
Feb 2026	Chris O’Shea	CEO	Buy (Share Incentive Plan)	111	~258–267p	~£290–300	SIP / pre-arranged
Feb 2026	Russell O’Brien	CFO	Buy (Share Incentive Plan)	112	~258–267p	~£290–300	SIP / pre-arranged
Throughout 2025–26	Various PDMRs	Senior leadership	Routine SIP/All-Employee Share Scheme purchases	Multiple small lots	Various	Various	Pre-arranged plans

Insider activity has been notably modest. The CEO/CFO Share Incentive Plan purchases of ~111–112 shares each in February 2026 (around 258–267p) are routine monthly SIP allocations rather than discretionary signal buys. There were no large discretionary open-market purchases by directors at the FY25 sell-off lows in late February 2026 disclosed via the LSE PDMR notification stream.

Institutional ownership. Centrica is ~78–82% institutionally owned. Top holders (per public filings):

Holder	Approx stake
BlackRock, Inc.	~8.9%
Second-largest holder	~5.7%
Third-largest holder	~3.8%
Other major institutions	The Vanguard Group, State Street Global Advisors, Invesco, Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management, Schroder Investment Management

10. Risks and Challenges

• Ofgem default tariff cap & political risk. The Ofgem default tariff cap structurally limits the Home Energy Supply EBIT margin to ~1.9% of revenue and resets quarterly. Any methodology change (e.g. on operating-cost allowance, bad-debt allowance, capital allowance) feeds directly through to Centrica’s largest customer-facing earnings line. Public/political reception of the 2022 super-profit period (adj. EBITDA £3.99 bn) continues to colour cap and tax decisions.
• Sustained low gas / power volatility erodes Optimisation. 2026 Optimisation EBITDA guided ~£250 m vs the previous £300–400 m sustainable range; if European volatility stays compressed, the medium-term run-rate sustains at the lower end. The 2022–23 windfall was a structural opportunity that has now reversed.
• UK Energy Profits Levy (EPL). 38% UK levy on top of 30% CT + 10% supplementary charge = 78% headline rate on UK oil & gas profits; impacts Spirit Energy / Morecambe Hub directly. EPL has been extended through to 2030 in the most recent UK Budget cycles.
• Electricity Generator Levy (EGL). 45% levy on nuclear/renewable receipts above £77.94/MWh. Nuclear AOP fell from £536 m (2023) to £353 m (2024) on lower achieved prices net of EGL; further price pressure plus the levy compresses upside even as life extensions add volume.
• Sizewell C capex commitment. £1.3 bn capped equity through to commercial operations (~late 2030s); any over-run is borne by the project sponsors collectively (subject to RAB cap-and-collar mechanics) but the cash absorption is a multi-year drag on free cash flow even if returns are RAB-protected.
• Rough storage economics & FID risk. Storage activities were paused during 2025; the long-term hydrogen redevelopment is dependent on a UK government support model that has not been finalised. Without it, Rough remains a methane-only asset with seasonal-spread economics that fluctuate with gas curve shape.
• Octopus / Kraken retail competition. Octopus is the largest UK household supplier with ~24% share; the Kraken software stack is licensed to multiple competitors (E.ON Next, Origin, EDF, others) and is structurally lowering the cost-to-serve in UK retail. British Gas’s incumbent cost base and legacy systems are a comparative disadvantage.
• Statutory volatility & remeasurements. Centrica reports adjusted earnings as the management metric; statutory results (loss of 1.5p/share in 2025) can swing meaningfully on hedge mark-to-market, impairments and restructuring. The 2022 statutory loss vs 2023 statutory profit illustrates the size of the noise around the operating signal.
• Leverage / capital allocation. Adjusted net cash fell £1.4 bn YoY to £1.5 bn at end-2025; capex up to ~£800 m/yr indicated through 2028. Buyback paused. If 2026–28 EBITDA underperforms the £1.7 bn 2028 target, the dividend or capex programme could come under review.
• Pension deficit step-up. IAS 19 pension deficit increased to £295 m at FY25 (FY24: £21 m), largely on triennial review assumptions. Cash funding requirements are ring-fenced but visible in adjusted net cash development.
• Climate transition / fossil-fuel exposure. Spirit Energy upstream and Centrica Energy gas trading carry transition and reputational risk. Hydrogen, CCS (Morecambe Net Zero), nuclear extensions and Sizewell C are explicit decarbonisation hedges, but each carries its own execution risk.
• Regulator/governance scrutiny. Centrica has previously been subject to Ofgem investigations into prepayment-meter handling and customer treatment; reputational risk persists across the British Gas brand. Shareholder dissent on executive pay was a feature of 2025 AGM season.

11. Recent Developments

• 30 April 2026. Ceres Power Holdings announced a Delta Electronics & Centrica solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) partnership targeting data-centre and energy-intensive industrial demand across the UK and Europe; launch product is off-grid generation. (RNS, Investegate)
• Late April 2026. Octopus Energy passed 8 m UK customers (announced 24 April 2026) and was confirmed as the largest UK electricity and gas supplier with ~24% market share — reinforcing competitive backdrop for British Gas.
• February 2026. Humber Hydrogen consortium (Centrica + SSE + Equinor + National Gas) launched to compete for ~£500 m of UK government Hydrogen Transport & Storage Business Model funding; supports the Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage / Humber pipeline plan.
• 19 February 2026 — FY 2025 preliminary results. Adjusted EBITDA £1.417 bn (−39%); adjusted operating profit £0.8 bn (−50%); adjusted basic EPS 11.2p (−41%); statutory basic EPS loss of 1.5p; full-year dividend +22% to 5.5p (interim 1.83p + proposed final 3.67p); £2 bn cumulative buyback completed; further buybacks paused; total shareholder returns £1.1 bn in 2025; adjusted net cash £1.5 bn; capex £1.2 bn; 2026 Optimisation EBITDA guided ~£250 m, Infrastructure £500–650 m; medium-term EBITDA target £1.7 bn by end-2028 and ~£2.0 bn by 2030.
• December 2025. Spirit Energy agreed sale of Cygnus 15%, Greater Markham Area and Southern North Sea producing interests to Serica Energy; total transaction value ~£98 m (£57 m headline + £41 m decommissioning transfer); commercial effective date 1 January 2025; expected to complete H2 2026.
• Late 2025. Grain LNG acquisition completed: 50% stake for Centrica (equity ~£200 m) alongside Energy Capital Partners (£1.5 bn EV; ~£1.1 bn non-recourse debt). Acquired from National Grid.
• Q4 2025. Sizewell C investment completed; ~£376 m initial draw against the £1.3 bn capped commitment; revenue commencement expected Q4 2025 onward.
• September 2025. EDF announced one-year life extension of Heysham 1 / Hartlepool to March 2028 and two-year extension of Heysham 2 / Torness to March 2030 — cumulative ~+60 TWh group / ~+12 TWh at Centrica’s 20% share since December 2024.
• 24 July 2025 — H1 2025 interim results. Group adjusted EBITDA £0.9 bn; Group AOP £0.5 bn (Retail £0.3 bn, Optimisation £0.1 bn, Infrastructure £0.2 bn); revenue (business performance) £11.925 bn (−10% YoY).
• 22 July 2025. UK Government signed Sizewell C Final Investment Decision; Centrica confirmed 15% equity stake / £1.3 bn capped funding agreement.
• 2025 (through year). £2 bn cumulative share buyback programme completed (including the £800 m extension announced in 2024 / executed in 2025); UK customer base grew ~+1% to ~7.5 m, including 91k SoLR transfers from Rebel Energy and Tomato Energy; nuclear life extensions delivered as above.

12. Key Dates Coming Up

Date	Event
5 May 2026 (10:30am UK)	AGM proxy voting deadline (Equiniti)
7 May 2026 (10:30am)	Annual General Meeting — The Parkgate Hotel, Westgate Street, Cardiff CF10 1DA. Resolutions include FY25 final dividend (3.67p), renewed share-buyback authority, director re-elections, remuneration report.
14 May 2026	FY25 final dividend payment date (3.67p)
July 2026	2026 Interim (H1) results — typical timing late July
H2 2026 (target)	Completion of Spirit Energy / Serica disposal (Cygnus, GMA, Southern North Sea)
Late 2026 / 2027 (window)	Possible UK government decision on Hydrogen Transport & Storage Business Model — gating Rough redevelopment FID
February 2027 (typical)	FY 2026 preliminary results
March 2028	Scheduled end of generation at Heysham 1 / Hartlepool (post latest extension)
March 2030	Scheduled end of generation at Heysham 2 / Torness (post latest extension)
End-2028	Centrica’s £1.7 bn EBITDA target
2030	Centrica’s ~£2.0 bn EBITDA target
~Late 2030s	Sizewell C scheduled commercial operations

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