ScottishPower owner Iberdrola yesterday confirmed it was still interested in buying British Energy - although an insider close to the Spanish energy giant signalled it was unlikely to go it alone.

Jose Luis del Valle, the group's strategy head and the ScottishPower chief executive, said he could see a strategic fit with Livingston-based British Energy, but he added that it "also has to fit with our economic and financial objectives".

Nonetheless, the insider yesterday told The Herald: "Given del Valle's comments about Iberdrola's financial objectives, it is clear they are considering either joining a consortium or perhaps even taking on some role after British Energy is bought by another company.

"It may be decommissioning, maintenance or even construction - all areas in which Iberdrola has expertise."

Iberdrola already has sizeable stakes in six nuclear plants in Spain, and it is also part of a consortium that is building two nuclear plants in Romania.

Last week, Iberdrola indicated it would not table a bid for nuclear energy company British Energy unless the likely buying price falls.

"This is all still at the study stage," the insider added.

The company has said the bid prices of around 700p a share being discussed for the energy company, which has been linked with companies including Germany's RWE, French company EDF and the UK's Centrica, were too high.

Currently, the race for British Energy, in which the continental firms look to be frontrunners, seems to be centring around bids of about £11bn.

The company is 35% owned by the UK government, which could make around £4bn from a sale which it is expected to use to pay for the clean-up of reactor sites.

The government has signalled it wants an expansion in nuclear energy generation as it seeks to cut carbon emissions.

New plants will be placed near current ones, making British Energy particularly attractive because it runs eight of the UK's 10 nuclear power stations, including Hunterston in Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian.

Del Valle said: "We are obliged to look at it - it fits strategically, but we have to see if it fits financially."

He added: "We also know the UK market through ScottishPower."

Meanwhile, the Bilbao-based company, which completed its £11.6bn takeover of ScottishPower last year, also said its first-quarter net profit had come in at 1.2bn (£1.5bn), up 162% year-on-year on the back of acquisitions and asset sales.

Iberdrola published headline figures from its results last week at its shareholders' meeting, but yesterday said its core profit had surged 65% to 1.8bn, with 507m of this coming from ScottishPower.