See London Metropolitan Archives, IMPERIAL CONTINENTAL GAS ASSOCIATION, "The Imperial Continental Gas Association was constituted in 1826 to 'manufacture and produce inflammable air or gas from coal, oil and other materials ... and to supply Cities and Towns .... in foreign countries'. It was not concerned with the British market. Its founder Major-General Sir William Congreve Bt, MP, FRS (1772-1828) had toured the continent since 1824 promoting the adoption by municipal authorities of lighting by coal gas and concluding early contracts to supply such cities as Ghent, Rotterdam, Hanover and Berlin. From its London headquarters, the Association expanded its operations abroad in succeeding decades. It negotiated contracts in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Prussia and the Netherlands, took over or built gas works in foreign cities and directed production and supply through a network of British and foreign agents and engineers. Its concern initially was with the lighting by gas of public places, but by the second half of the 19th century it was also supplying domestic consumers. Towards the end of the century, it branched out into production and supply of electricity. ... The role of the Association in the affairs of its subsidiaries diminished progressively after 1945. In April 1987, in the course of company restructuring, the Association went into voluntary liquidation."
