Centrica eyes a slice of the British Energy pie
As the UK government set upon the road to merge EDF and British Energy, Centrica soon realised that no matter how much firepower it could muster it would not be able to takeover British Energy. Now that the EDF deal is all but done it seems as though Centrica will be asked to come on board and take a 25% in the new look British Energy. The small sum of £3.1 billion will seemingly secure a part of the deal for Centrica and while talks are still ongoing they are rumoured to be nearing a successful conclusion.
The move will allow the UK government to sell this as a UK / French deal when in reality it is EDF that has and will always pull the strings. Whether this will be enough to fend of the accusations that the company has been sold out to the French remains to be seen.
The UK government is treading a very thin line with this EDF / British Energy deal as it affectively puts the future of the UK nuclear energy industry in the hands of the French government (who affectively own and control EDF). How will UK voters react when energy prices start to edge higher and higher in the future?
Share this..
Related stories
Watson Wyatt Forecasts Final Salary Scheme Demise
Pension experts at Watson Wyatt have stepped into the argument about final salary schemes and whether they are at all feasible. Using their experience in the market place and feedback from an array of customers they are forecasting wide ranging changes to the final salary scheme sector, with closures and conversion set to increase.
It is already known that about 6% of all final sal...
Is the EU expansion policy fatally flawed?
The ongoing problems in Greece and potential issues regarding Spain and Portugal have highlighted the major expansion push instigated by the European Union over the last few years. This is a policy which has seen many relatively small countries join the European Union and tap into additional funding to finance changes within their own boundaries. However, was the European Union too quick to hand o...
Read MoreAlistair Darling promises laws to curb bonuses
Now that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been hung out to dry by the UK government, Alistair Darling has now stepped up to the mark, again, suggesting that he will impose laws to curb bonuses and remuneration packages within the UK banking sector. Unfortunately, this is a line we have heard time and time again from the Chancellor and it is one which grows ever weaker in power each time...
Read MoreBankrupts unable to open bank accounts
As the number of bankrupts in the UK continues to grow there is concern that many banking operations in the UK are preventing the opening of very simple and non-credit-based bank accounts. There is no legal reason why a bankrupt should not be able to have access to simple banking operations with no credit and no overdraft facilities are available. So why are UK banks doing this? From a banking...
Read MoreWhat can savers expect in the forthcoming budget?
As Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling continue to suggest that UK savers will be "looked after" in the forthcoming budget many people are now wondering exactly what is in store. As UK base rates have fallen from over 5% to the current level of under 1% we have seen savings rate in the UK collapse. This has led to many people having to dig deep into their deposits even though just 12 months ago many...
Read More