April 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
Tesco Plc is facing fresh questions over the impact of its proposed 3.7 billion pound ($4.65 billion) takeover of Booker Group after a rival wholesaler argued that it would give Britain's biggest supermarket group "an obvious level of influence" over thousands of convenience stores. http://bit.ly/2pb6FMS
The Co-op has attracted 750,000 new members in the past six months by offering a 5 percent cash back reward on purchases of own-brand products and a 1 percent donation to local charities. http://bit.ly/2onTAuV
The Guardian
Theresa May said the energy market was "manifestly" not working after a flurry of price rises by the big six companies – British Gas, e.on, EDF, npower, ScottishPower, and SSE – and dozens of smaller suppliers. A government crackdown was most likely in the form of a price cap on the standard variable tariffs affecting nearly two-thirds of households. http://bit.ly/2pLa29z
Ticketmaster has been accused of not doing enough to stop professional ticket touts bypassing strict purchase limits imposed on ordinary fans. Fans can use the site to buy tickets when they first go on sale. But it also owns the resale sites GetMeIn and Seatwave. Critics of these "secondary" sites say they have become a lucrative haven for professional touts. http://bit.ly/2pswGHa
The Telegraph
One of Britain's best loved breakfast cereals is expected to be gobbled up by the American cereal giant Post Holdings Inc in a 1.4 billion pound deal. The maker of Golden Crisp and Cocoa Pebbles was tipped as the frontrunner in the race to buy Weetabix last month, and is expected to confirm the long-awaited deal when U.S. markets open on Tuesday. http://bit.ly/2oFMSlG
Sky Plc and Virgin Media are close to a landmark deal to join forces in the advertising market, in a move meant to challenge local media and tempt spending away from Google and Facebook. http://bit.ly/2pLj9qy
Sky News
Vice is in talks with private equity firms including the former owner of Formula One motor racing about an investment valuing it at close to $5.5 billion. http://bit.ly/2nWqsj7
Supermarket giant Tesco Plc is in line for a 105 million pound cut in business rates on its biggest stores, while small firms are set to be hit with hikes. http://bit.ly/2puS5Ne
Independent
One of Britain's most powerful business lobby groups is urging the Government to ramp up efforts towards making the UK economy the world's most competitive by 2030, just as Westminster begins the arduous process of disentangling from the European Union. http://ind.pn/2pLmpCx
($1 = 0.7965 pounds) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)