The UK government is preparing to temporarily head the UK retail supply division of Russian gas giant Gazprom, Bloomberg News reported.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading Retail Ltd, whose ultimate parent is the Russian state-run Gazprom, is a prime candidate to be taken into the UK’s special administration regime.

The unit, which operates under the name Gazprom Energy, supplies a little more than a fifth of Britain's commercial gas volume and serves thousands of customers, including the National Health Service.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported that Gazprom Energy is trying to find a buyer to prevent collapse, as many large customers are seeking to exit multi-million dollar contracts.