Alexander Temerko,  told the Financial Times he had secured “notices of intent” for the £1.3bn construction costs from a consortium of investors including banks, hedge funds and pension funds.

Last month, the High Court in London overturned a government decision to block the cable, which could supply up to 5 per cent of the UK’s energy from the French grid. Although the government has decided not to appeal the court judgment, it has two months in which to ask questions about the proposal and then a further three months to hand down a new decision based partly on the judgment by the High Court. 

Advisers to the project include London Bridge Capital, Baringa and FTI Consulting. London Bridge Capital said it had “engaged with potential investors . . . We have received expressions of interest in excess of the project’s funding requirement for both debt and equity capital, with investors expected, in due course, to take over from the development team. The results of this engagement were submitted to Ofgem in January.”