A few patriotic investors would have preferred an all-British solution to nuclear power production in the UK. But the government never seemed to have much stomach for Centrica buying British Energy outright.

Instead, it committed its stake in British Energy to a bid from EDF of France last year, when oil prices were near their peak. As the commodities market tumbled, that seemed to leave Centrica tied to a minority stake in the nuclear group at an increasingly unfavourable price .