145 jobs at risk as Harrogate firm seeks ‘orderly exit’ from market

The jobs of 145 employees at commercial gas supplier CNG Ltd are at risk as the company, which is based on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate, looks for a buyer for its commercial supply arm.

This part of the company supplies gas to 46,500 business customers and CNG is now looking for a bidder for it. Until this is resolved, the future of CNG’s workforce “remains uncertain”, a spokesperson said.

The company also acts as a “middleman”, providing natural gas to UK utilities, and past clients have included Octopus and Bulb. However, the recent gas crisis saw the insolvency of four of its customers – UPU, Avro, Green and Igloo – which were all large suppliers.

As a result, CNG, which is part-owned by Anglo-Swiss commodity trading multinational Glencore plc, plans to make an “orderly exit” from this wholesale energy market by November 30.

This means that CNG’s 18 remaining wholesale customers have just one month left to find an alternative supplier.

Since CNG is primarily a gas business, the company spokesperson said there would be “little left” if both the wholesale and retail arms were to close. Finding a buyer for the retail business is therefore crucial to save jobs.

CNG’s CEO Paul Stanley told this newspaper: “This is a difficult time for the industry and the impact is tragic for CNG and many of the suppliers who depend on our shipping service. We are proud and grateful for the continued professionalism of our staff at this difficult time.

“Glencore continues to work hard with us in the background to try to ensure an orderly exit from the market.”

CNG was founded as Contract Natural Gas Ltd in 1994, following the deregulation of the gas industry. Placing an emphasis on customer service and community involvement, its then managing director Jacqui Hall led it through over a decade of growth. By 2019, CNG had over 200 employees and revenues exceeding £250m.

Paul Stanley took over as CEO in January 2020 and immediately set about cutting costs to boost efficiency, reducing staff numbers.

The company, which had suffered lower demand from business customers during the Covid pandemic, returned to profit last year.