company subsidiary of centrica industry utilities predecessor 1812 as the gas light and coke company 1948 as the area gas boards 1973 as the british gas corporation 1986 as british gas plc founded 1997 as a subsidiary of centrica headquarters staines upon thames united kingdom 1 area served united kingdom key people mark hodges managing director products gas electricity boilers and central heating plumbing and drains renewable energy home appliance services parent centrica website www.britishgas.co.uk british gas is an energy and home services provider in the united kingdom . it is the trading name of british gas services limited and british gas new heating limited both subsidiaries of centrica . 2 serving around twelve million homes in the uk british gas is the biggest uk energy supplier and is considered one of the big six 3 dominating the gas and electricity market in the united kingdom . the brand british gas remains from the demerger of the british gas corporation in 1997 which formed centrica bg group and transco . the british gas corporation was a result of the restructuring of the uk gas industry following the gas act 1972 . the act merged all of the area boards and created the british gas corporation . the british gas corporation was privatised as british gas plc by the thatcher government and on 8 december 1986 its shares were floated on the london stock market . centrica trades as scottish gas in scotland . contents 1 history 1.1 1812 1948 1.2 1948 73 1.3 1973 86 1.4 1986 97 1.5 1997 present 2 advertising sponsorship and marketing 3 distribution network operators 4 references 5 further reading 6 external links history edit 1812 1948 edit further information gas light and coke company the gas light and coke company was the first public utility company in the world . it was founded by frederick albert winsor and incorporated by royal charter on 30 april 1812 under the seal of king george iii . 4 it continued to thrive for the next 136 years expanding into domestic services whilst absorbing many smaller companies including the aldgate gas light and coke company 1819 the city of london gas light and coke company 1870 the equitable gas light company 1871 the great central gas consumer s company 1870 victoria docks gas company 1871 western gas light company 1873 imperial gas light and coke company 1876 independent gas light and coke company 1876 the london gas light company 1883 richmond gas company 1925 brentford gas company 1926 pinner gas company 1930 and southend on sea and district gas company 1932 . 5 on 1 may 1949 the glcc became the major part of the new north thames gas board one of britain s twelve regional gas boards 4 after the passing of the gas act 1948 by clement attlee s post war labour government . 1948 73 edit further information area gas boards in the early 1900s the gas market in the united kingdom was mainly run by county councils and small private firms . at this time the use of an flammable gas often known as town gas piped to houses as a fuel was still being marketed to consumers by such means as the national gas congress and exhibition in 1913 . the gas used in the 19th and early 20th centuries was coal gas but in the period 1967 77 british domestic coal gas supplies were replaced by natural gas . commemorative plaque in great peter street in 1948 clement attlee s labour government reshaped the gas industry bringing in the gas act 1948 . the act vesting date 1 april 1949 nationalised the uk gas industry and 1 062 privately owned and municipal gas companies were merged into twelve area gas boards each a separate body with its own management structure . the twelve gas boards were eastern east midlands northern north eastern north thames north west scottish southern south eastern south west wales and west midlands . each are a board was divided into geographical groups or divisions which were often further divided into smaller districts . these boards simply became known as the gas board a term still sometimes used when referring to british gas . citation needed in addition the gas act established the gas council its constitution was such that control lay effectively with the area boards . the council consisted of a chair and deputy chair both appointed by the minister and the chairs of each of the twelve area boards . the council served as a channel of communication with the minister ; undertook labour negotiations ; undertook research ; and acted as spokesperson for the gas industry generally . 6 the gas act 1965 shifted the balance of power to the centre it put the gas council on the same footing as the area boards with the powers to borrow up to 900 million to manufacture or aquire gas and to supply gas in bulk to any area board . 7 in may 1968 the gas council moved to large new offices at 59 bryanston street marble arch london . 1973 86 edit in the early 1970s the uk gas industry was again restructured after the gas act 1972 was passed . the act merged all the area boards and created the british gas corporation . 8 from its inception the corporation was responsible for development and maintenance of the supply of gas to great britain in addition to satisfying reasonable demand for gas throughout the country . its leadership like that of the area boards was appointed and supervised by the secretary of state for trade and industry until 1974 when those powers were vested in the newly created position of secretary of state for energy . 1986 97 edit further information british gas plc the conservative government led by prime minister margaret thatcher introduced the gas act 1986 in which led to the privatisation of the company and on 8 december 1986 its shares floated on the london stock market as british gas plc. in the hope of encouraging individuals to become shareholders the offer was advertised with the if you see sid ... tell him campaign . the initial public offering of 135p per share valued the company at 9 billion the highest equity offering ever at the time . 9 1997 present edit further information centrica in 1997 11 years after it had been privatised british gas demerged to become the entirely separate bg group and the gas sales and gas trading services and retail businesses . the gas sales and gas trading and services and retail businesses together with the gas production business of the north and south morecambe gas fields were transferred to centrica which continues to own and operate the british gas retail brand . 10 british gas is led by its managing director mark hodges 11 who oversees a business that provides energy and services to 11 million homes and employs over 28 000 staff based across the uk . in april 2016 it was announced that 224 000 residential customers had left the company 12 citing customers coming to the end of their fixed deals and then moving on to other suppliers as the main reason for this loss . a newly designed british gas van in the same month april 2016 british gas also announced they would be closing a call centre and office in oldbury west midlands with a loss of approximately 680 jobs 13 advertising sponsorship and marketing edit british gas has actively been involved in sports sponsorship including a six year deal with the british swimming team which commenced in march 2009 and is expected to net the team 15 million 14 and from 2006 to 2009 it sponsored the southern football league of england . 15 its extensive television advertising has featured many high profile individuals and in the early 1990s one advertisement included cheryl tweedy as a small child more than ten years before the beginning of her pop music career . 16 in november 2012 the information commissioner s office publicly listed british gas as one of a number of companies that it had concerns about due to unsolicited telephone calls for marketing . the concerns were based on complaints . in response british gas said that we uphold the highest standards when contacting people in their homes and only use contact information if we have express permission to do so . 17 in july 2014 uk regulator ofgem reached an agreement with british gas for the company to pay 1 million in compensation to hundreds of people who had been advised to switch from other suppliers to british gas by british gas advisers using exaggerated claims . 18 distribution network operators edit british gas is an energy supplier for homes across the country . the infrastructure pipes which delivers the gas to consumers is owned and maintained by other companies . they do not however manage the network of towers and cables that distributes electricity these are maintained by distribution network operators dnos which vary from region to region . if for instance there is a power outage it is necessary to contact the appropriate dno rather than the energy supplier . see entry on distribution network operator for a full list . 19 references edit see all our locations in the uk and republic of ireland pdf . centrica . 2015 06 29 . retrieved 2016 02 18 . 3 . british gas head office the causeway staines british gas legal information http www.britishgas.co.uk legal information.html retrieved 2 march 2012 missing or empty title help millions face rise in energy bills 11 october 2012 http money.uk.msn.com millions face rise in energy bills 1 retrieved 11 october 2012 missing or empty title help a b gas light and coke company . archives in the m25 area . aim25 . north thames gas predecessor . aim25 archives in london and the m25 area . retrieved 10 august 2011 . williams trevor i. 1981 . a history of the british gas industry . oxford university press . pp. 116 7 . williams trevor i. 1981 . a history of the british gas industry . oxford oxford university press . p. 232 . gas act 1972 17 july 2012 http www.legislation.gov.uk ukpga 1972 60 part i enacted retrieved 17 july 2012 missing or empty title help 30 second guide tell sid . 17 july 2012 . retrieved 29 december 2012 . demerger . 17 july 2012 . retrieved 1 august 2012 . british gas biographies . www.britishgas.co.uk . retrieved 2016 04 01 . british gas loses 224 000 customers owner centrica says . bbc news . retrieved 2016 04 18 . http www.bbc.co.uk news uk england birmingham 36093136 http www.morethanthegames.co.uk summer sports 122913 british gas sponsor british swimming team http www.kentishfootball.co.uk mambo index.php option com content & task view & id 763 & itemid 39 before they were famous celebs in ads video . huffington post . core kevin 16 november 2012 commissioner names firms over nuisance marketing calls bbc news http www.bbc.co.uk news business 20348373 retrieved 8 february 2013 missing or empty title help bg pays compensation for mis sold contracts . britain news.net . retrieved 5 july 2014 . the gb electricity distribution network . retrieved 14 july 2014 . further reading edit brady robert a. 1950 . crisis in britain . plans and achievements of the labour government . university of california press . on nationalization 1945 50 pp 132 82 external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title british gas & oldid 740165692 categories natural gas infrastructure in the united kingdomcentricabritish royal warrant holdersnon renewable resource companies established in 19861986 establishments in the united kingdomhidden categories pages with citations lacking titlespages with citations having bare urlsuse dmy dates from december 2013use british english from december 2013pages using infobox company with unsupported parametersall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from june 2014 navigation menu