AN EMBATTLED key player in Cumbria's proposed new nuclear has seen a record rise in its share price.

Shares in Toshiba - which has a 60 per cent stake in NuGen, the company with plans to build a power plant in Moorside, near Sellafield - rose by more than 22 per cent in overnight trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

This is the largest in the company's history, according to data compiled by the business news service Bloomberg .

The shares closed at 224.7 (£1.60) yen, up from 190 (£1.35) yen at the start of the day.

This news came amid optimism that the company will find a buyer for its flash memory unit.

The company hopes to raise money from this to help cover the 713bn yen (£5bn) loss in its nuclear business, which has fuelled worries over its future involvement in Cumbrian new nuclear.

Toshiba though said last week that it remained committed to investment in Moorside but would eventually seek to sell its stake to new investors. It also hopes to participate without taking on risk from construction work.

Today's rise is in sharp contrast to Friday, when the company's share price fell by 10 per cent after credit rating agency S&P Global described the Japanese giant's finances as "extremely fragile".

S&P announced that it may downgrade the credit rating of Toshiba if it receives financial support which includes debt restructuring. If this happened it would affect the way lenders would be willing to deal with the company.