British Energy has won a battle to keep control of Eggborough, its remaining coal-fired power station, after the Court of Appeal blocked a proposed takeover plan organised by investment bank Credit Suisse.

The court upheld a High Court decision that effectively said that Credit Suisse could not join with hedge funds to buy the North Yorkshire station without giving British Energy the right to intervene.

Credit Suisse owns about 90% of Eggborough's debt. The terms of an earlier restructuring plan included an option to buy the 1960-megawatt plant in 2010, if a majority of debt holders - mainly banks - agreed.

Credit Suisse planned to transfer those options to a new investment vehicle where it would be combined with similar options held by hedge funds.

Credit Suisse and the funds would then exercise their right to buy Eggborough. However, British Energy argued that under the earlier agreement, it reserved a pre-emption right to take control of the plant in the event that Credit Suisse transferred its options to a third party.