The chief executive of Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, received over £4.7 million in total pay and benefits last year, despite a decrease in profits. Chris O’Shea’s salary of more than £1 million was supplemented by nearly £3.6 million in bonuses. This occurred as many British Gas consumers are facing high energy costs.
The payouts to Mr. O’Shea were granted even as Centrica’s underlying profits dropped to £814 million in 2025 from £1.55 billion in 2024. Factors contributing to this included mild weather impacting British Gas, resulting in an £80 million loss as customers reduced heating usage.
Furthermore, a shift towards cheaper fixed tariff deals led to a decline in profits from supplying households, down to £163 million from £269 million in 2024. Despite a shareholder revolt at the previous year’s annual general meeting, where 40% opposed the pay structure, Mr. O’Shea’s pay package for 2025 was £4.73 million, a decrease from £5.08 million in 2024.
In addition, Mr. O’Shea is set to receive a 3% raise to £1.13 million annually starting April 1, with the wider workforce also seeing average pay hikes of 3% to 4%. His pay ratio compared to the average employee at Centrica was 71:1 last year.
Commenting on the results, Mr. O’Shea acknowledged the challenging environment but highlighted the company’s operational performance and customer growth achievements. British Gas reported a 1% rise in UK and Ireland household customers, reaching 7.96 million, although it was surpassed by Octopus Energy as the largest energy supplier.
Looking ahead, industry experts predict a 7% drop in Ofgem’s energy price cap, reducing the annual cost for a typical dual fuel household by £117 to £1,641 from April 1. This follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement in the Budget to cut £150 from average household bills by eliminating the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
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