Press Digest: British Business - February 18

Topps Tiles

18/02/2025 02:16

Feb 18 (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 healthcare property developer Assura  AGRP.L  has
rejected a 1.56 billion pound ($1.97 billion) acquisition bid
from KKR  KKR.N .
    - Two of Britain's biggest banks Barclays  BARC.L  and
NatWest  NWG.L  are to remove climate targets from their annual
bonus schemes for senior executives, reflecting a wider shift in
the business world to drop environmental and diversity measures
linked to pay. 
    
    
    The Guardian
    -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged U.S.
President Donald Trump to provide a U.S. "backstop" to a
European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, saying it is the only
way to deter Russia from attacking the country again.
    - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has not ruled out
holding a parliamentary vote on committing UK troops to a
peacekeeping role in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, after
calls from some within Labour and the Lib Dems.
    
        
    The Telegraph
    - The UK Supreme Court on Monday rejected a move by finance
minister Rachel Reeves to intervene in a landmark case on car
loan mis-selling. 
    -Castle Water, which was co-founded by Graham Edwards, the
Tory treasurer, has issued a winding-up petition against Pret A
Manger over allegations of unpaid bills. 
    
    
    Sky News
    -Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business and
Trade, will discuss Jingye Group's request for a bailout for the
Scunthorpe-based steelmaker with the Chinese group's boss Li
Huiming on Tuesday. 
    -Britain's competition regulator said on Monday that Topps
Tiles'  TPT.L  9 million pound  ($11.34 million) acquisition of
CTD Tiles could reduce competition, limiting deals and product
choices for customers and businesses in parts of England and
Scotland.
    
    ($1 = 0.7937 pounds)

 (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
 ((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))