Insolvency fears hit British Energy
Corporate recovery specialists are on alert after stricken nuclear power generator British Energy warned that it faced possible insolvency without immediate government aid.
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Shares have been suspended as the UK’s biggest nuclear generator pursues talks with the DTI on financial support and longer-term restructuring.
It warned: ‘If these discussions are not successful, the company may be unable to meet its financial obligations as they fall due and therefore the company may have to take appropriate insolvency proceedings.’
British Energy, which generates over one-fifth of Britain’s electricity, has suffered from low market prices and faces refinancing of several hundred millions of pounds of debt. Its increasingly elderly power stations have faced reliability issues.