The head of Centrica, the company that owns British Gas, received over £4.7 million in total compensation last year despite a decrease in profits. Chief executive Chris O’Shea’s salary of more than £1 million was supplemented by nearly £3.6 million in bonus payments. This comes at a time when many British Gas customers are facing high energy bills.
Despite a drop in Centrica’s underlying profits to £814 million in the last year from £1.55 billion in 2024, Mr. O’Shea’s earnings remained substantial. Factors contributing to the profit decline included warmer weather impacting British Gas operations, resulting in an £80 million loss due to reduced heating usage by customers.
Additionally, more households switched to cheaper tariff options, leading to a decrease in profits in the household supply sector from £269 million in 2024 to £163 million. Mr. O’Shea’s total pay for 2025 was £4.73 million, down from £5.08 million in the previous year.
Despite facing shareholder opposition at the previous annual general meeting, where almost 40% of shareholders voted against the board’s pay proposals, Mr. O’Shea’s compensation package remains substantial. The report also indicated a 3% increase in his pay to £1.13 million annually starting April 1, with the wider workforce set to receive average pay rises of 3% to 4%.
Centrica’s chair of the boardroom pay setting committee, Carol Arrowsmith, acknowledged the achievements and milestones reached during the year that justified the adjustments to Mr. O’Shea’s remuneration. Mr. O’Shea, commenting on the challenging business environment, highlighted the company’s operational performance and customer growth.
British Gas experienced a 1% increase in household customer numbers in the UK and Ireland, reaching 7.96 million, with 7.5 million in the UK alone. However, the growth was partly due to acquiring customers from failed energy suppliers Rebel Energy and Tomato Energy, offsetting a slight decline in underlying customer numbers. Octopus Energy surpassed British Gas as the largest household energy supplier in the UK last year.
Industry experts predict a 7% reduction in Ofgem’s energy price cap, potentially saving a typical dual fuel household £117 annually from April 1. This follows the announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last November’s Budget to reduce average household bills by £150 by scrapping the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
