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May 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret a Manger is in talks to acquire the rival Eat sandwich chain with a view to converting most of its 90-odd stores to the Veggie Pret brand. http://bit.ly/2W6cn2v Anglo-South African bank Investec shut down its Click & Invest service to new customers with immediate effect, putting up to 54 jobs at risk, with customers being advised to sell or transfer their holdings. http://bit.ly/2LRuO7e
The Guardian Burberry Group PLC is closing one in 10 stores around the world as part of an overhaul designed to take the luxury fashion brand more upmarket. http://bit.ly/2LPcoUQ British Steel has staved off the threat of collapse, despite the government refusing its request to participate in a bailout, after the firm's owners and lenders agreed to provide fresh funds. http://bit.ly/2LKAxvt
The Telegraph Waitrose has unveiled plans to treble the size of its digital business to make £1 billion ($1.28 billion) sales online, just three months after its long-standing relationship with Ocado Group PLC was brought to an end when the online grocer signed a joint venture with rival Marks & Spencer. http://bit.ly/2LPEZZZ The Bank of England has called out EU officials for apparent duplicity, claiming they are presenting inaccurate and conflicting views of future UK regulation in a bid to persuade international banks to quit the UK. http://bit.ly/2LKC3h9
Sky News
Amazon.com INC is close to announcing a deal to back Deliveroo as part of a $575 million fundraising. http://bit.ly/2LQWcCq Embattled lender Metro Bank PLC has moved to end concerns over its finances by selling new shares, at a discounted price, and raising more than the £350 million ($447.65 million) targeted. http://bit.ly/2LNB289
The Independent
Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are among five big banks fined a total of €1.1 billion ($1.23 billion) by the European Commission for operating cartels that rigged currency markets. https://ind.pn/2LQ7gjj The competition watchdog is to investigate sales of leasehold homes as concerns grow that thousands of buyers have been locked into paying extortionate charges that they did not understand when they bought their property. https://ind.pn/2LRwmy4
($1 = 0.7819 pounds) ($1 = 0.8951 euros) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)