Energy giant Centrica announces £2.4m partnership with charity Multibank

Energy giant Centrica has announced a £2.4m partnership with Multibank in a huge boost to the charity set up by former prime minister Gordon Brown.

Under the three-year partnership, Centrica will help provide further essential household goods to those who need them.

Brown and Centrica chief executive Chris O’Shea will meet with Two Doors Down actor Arabella Weir – a trustee for the Multibank – to discuss the major expansion of support for families experiencing severe material and fuel poverty.

The partnership is being launched at The Big House Multibank hub in Lochgelly, Fife.

The Multibank charity was started in 2022 and now operates six hubs across the country – and works with more than 100 businesses.

It has distributed more than 14 million essential items – mostly from retail return stock – to over two million families through a network of more than 3,000 local charities.

The aim of the Multibank is to ease the cost-of-living pressure on families living in or facing poverty.

Centrica will give £800,000 per year to strengthen the Multibank’s core operations, expand its reach through new satellite hubs, and increase the supply of essential goods such as warm bedding, clothing, baby items, hygiene products and furniture.

The Multibank also announced a collaboration with the British Gas Energy Trust to give families identified by charity’s partners access to energy debt relief, emergency fuel vouchers and white goods grants.

Brown said: “Britain needs a Coalition of Compassion – government, businesses and communities working together to prevent families falling into hardship.

“No family should be forced to choose between heating and eating. By linking The Multibank’s local networks with Centrica and the British Gas Energy Trust, this partnership means more families can get the essential goods and support they need alongside immediate help with heating and energy costs.’’

Mr O’Shea said: “When people fall behind on their energy bills, they are almost always struggling with everything else too.

“Poverty doesn’t happen in silos – a broken cooker, a lack of warm bedding or mounting energy debt can tip families into crisis.

“Working with the Multibank allows us to support families earlier with both essentials and targeted energy help – from emergency fuel vouchers to white goods grants – so they can stay warm, safe and secure this winter and beyond.”

Tracey Talbot, interim chief executive at British Gas Energy Trust said: “For the Trust, working in partnership and collaboration with charities like the Multibank means we can offer more rounded, practical support for people, combining energy debt relief and emergency support with access to the everyday essentials many of us take for granted.

“Together we can reach more people, provide support where it’s needed, and make sure no one is left struggling to survive. Working together, we can make a real difference.”