British Gas owner Centrica is set to take a 15% stake in the planned Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk, according to reports.

The Financial Times has reported that following months of “drawn out negotiations”, all sides are keen to reach an agreement on the project before the Parliament’s recess date on 21 July, according to sources close to the matter.

The newspaper also previously reported in January that the final cost of the Sizewell nuclear project could be “close to £40bn”.

Centrica is on record for indicating an interest in the project but has not given detail of the size stake it could take.

Should the the FTSE 100 company take a 15% stake in Sizewell the investment would give it the same size stake as the French state-owned energy group EDF, which has been progressively reducing its position in the Southeast of England towards 15%.

Last month, Centrica did reveal that it was “closely monitoring” the impact of potential global trade restrictions, after reporting that its British Gas profits were hit by warmer than normal weather in the UK in the second quarter.

Centrica has not yet commented on the media speculation.

---