FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
November 03, 2003
BRITISH ENERGY PLC
(Registrant's name)
3 Redwood Crescent
Peel Park
East Kilbride G74 5PR
Scotland
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F..X.. Form 40-F.....
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ..... No ..X..
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant
in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
Exhibit Index
The following document (bearing the exhibit number listed below) is furnished
herewith and is made a part of this Report pursuant to the General Instructions
for Form 6-K:
Exhibit Description
No. 1 RNS Announcement, re: Restructuring Update
dated November 03, 2003
31 October 2003
BRITISH ENERGY PLC
("British Energy" or the "Company")
UPDATE ON PROPOSED RESTRUCTURING
Following its announcement of 1 October 2003, the Board of British Energy (the "
Board") confirms that the initial requirements relating to creditor approvals
and sign-ups to the proposed restructuring (the "Proposed Restructuring") of
British Energy have been satisfied as follows:
- As at 31 October 2003, Bondholders representing in aggregate with The Royal
Bank of Scotland ("RBS") 88.8 per cent. of the combined amount owing to the
Bondholders and RBS have signed up to the Proposed Restructuring (Note 1);
- The terms of the Proposed Restructuring have been approved by the credit
committee of RBS; and
- As at 31 October 2003, all of the lenders and swap providers in the Eggborough
bank syndicate have signed up to the Proposed Restructuring with full credit
committee approvals.
As stated in the announcement of 29 October 2003, the financial impact of recent
events at the Sizewell B and Heysham 1 nuclear power stations was expected to be
material, principally as a result of the need to replace approximately 0.8 TWh
of aggregate lost output which had previously been sold forward. The Company now
believes that the financial impact of these outages on the Group's cash position
will be in the region of GBP25 million to GBP30 million.
Further, the current low level of excess capacity in the UK electricity
generation market is resulting in increased volatility in electricity prices,
which is in turn increasing the required levels of collateral and the cost of
unplanned outages. These and other factors are putting greater pressure on
British Energy's liquid resources, which the Company is working to address. As
at 30 October 2003, excluding amounts reserved for interest payments, British
Energy had cash, including amounts placed as collateral, of GBP375 million. Of
this, GBP338 million has been deposited as collateral in support of the Group's
trading and operational requirements. As at this date, the Group had drawings of
GBP106 million under the credit facility initially provided by the Secretary of
State for Trade and Industry (the "Secretary of State") on 9 September 2002,
leaving availability under this facility of GBP94 million.
The Proposed Restructuring remains subject to significant uncertainties and a
large number of important conditions, including receipt by the Secretary of
State of a satisfactory notification from the European Commission that insofar
as the proposals involve the grant of State aid by the UK Government, such aid
is compatible with the common market. The Secretary of State expects to receive
this notification by mid 2004. Furthermore, the Secretary of State is entitled
not to proceed with the Proposed Restructuring if, in her opinion, the Group
will not be viable in all reasonably foreseeable conditions without access to
additional financing beyond that which is committed and will continue to be
available when required.
If the assumptions underlying the Proposed Restructuring are not fulfilled or
the conditions to the Proposed Restructuring are not satisfied or waived, then
the British Energy group of companies (the "Group") may be unable to meet its
financial obligations as they fall due and therefore the Group may have to take
appropriate insolvency proceedings. The Board considers that, in the event of
insolvency, distributions, if any, to unsecured creditors may represent only a
small fraction of their unsecured liabilities and it is highly unlikely that
there would be any return to shareholders.
Please refer to the announcement of 1 October 2003 for a more detailed
discussion of the terms and conditions of the Proposed Restructuring.
Contacts:
Paul Heward +44 1355 262 201 (British Energy, Investor Relations)
Andrew Dowler +44 20 7831 3113 (Financial Dynamics, Media)
Note 1: Excluding RBS, holders of 88.9 per cent. of the GBP109,861,000 5.949 per
cent. guaranteed bonds due 2003, 80.9 per cent of the GBP163,444,000 6.077 per
cent. guaranteed bonds due 2006 and of 95.1 per cent. of the GBP134,586,000
6.202 per cent. bonds due 2016 have signed up to the Proposed Restructuring.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date: November 03, 2003 BRITISH ENERGY PLC
By:____Paul Heward____
Name: Paul Heward
Title: Director - Investor Relations