British Energy is struggling to turn around its fortunes

The move comes after the energy company took part in a �1bn ($1.9bn) debt-for-equity restructuring.

Company chairman Adrian Montague called it "one of the most complicated restructurings in UK corporate history" and thanked shareholders and creditors.

In Monday afternoon trade its shares slipped to 263p, after opening at 286p, giving a market value of about �1.5bn.

Saved

In 2002, a slump in wholesale power prices pushed the company towards the brink of insolvency.

The company negotiated a rescue deal with the government and major creditors in 2003, which gave creditors new bonds and 97.5% of the company in exchange for cancelling �1bn of the firm's debt.

The stake of existing shareholders was cut to 2.5%, a move which some investment groups were unhappy about.

Shareholders and creditors approved the debt-for-equity swap at the end of last year, but British Energy needed court approval to proceed with the relisting of its shares on the London Stock Exchange.

'Highly exposed'

In December, British Energy reported a pre-tax loss of �234m ($449m), compared with �60m a year earlier, for the six months to 30 September.

The firm was hit during 2004 by a number of "unplanned outages" or production halts at its power stations. These included stoppages for inspections at its Hartlepool and Heysham plants.

"The new management team has started to address the past under-investment and unacceptable output," said chief executive Mike Alexander last week.

"We must put that right, but it will not be easy and it will take time."

Morgan Stanley gave a "fair value" estimate of 210p on the shares and advised investors to be cautious.

"Due to its very high fixed cost base, British Energy has significant operational gearing. Financially the company is highly exposed to both operational improvement and movements in UK power prices," the bank said in a research note.