Dec 16 (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

* Online food delivery group Just Eat Plc has announced plans to buy its rivals Hungryhouse in Britain and SkipTheDishes in Canada, for a total of about 300 million pounds ($372.54 million). (http://bit.ly/2hM3rMb)

* Lloyd's of London said it had begun finalising plans to set up a new EU-based subsidiary and was looking at five European cities as homes, with Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris understood to be on its shortlist. (http://bit.ly/2hM5pw8)

The Guardian

* The Dutch company Heineken NV and the investment firm Patron Capital have won a 400 million pounds ($496.72 million) battle to take over Punch Taverns Plc, which has more than 3,000 pubs across UK. (http://bit.ly/2hLTSN4)

* British Communications Workers Union said the Post Office had rejected its offer to suspend strike next week after talks over jobs, pay and pensions broke down on Thursday. (http://bit.ly/2hM2kft)

The Telegraph

* Britain will be presented with a 50 billion pounds ($62.09 billion) "exit bill" by the European Union as soon as Theresa May triggers Article 50, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is warning. (http://bit.ly/2hLURgq)

* Tesco Plc's former commercial boss Kevin Grace has been told that he will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office over the 326 million pounds ($404.83 million) accounting scandal that threw the supermarket into crisis and cost him his job. (http://bit.ly/2hM0yej)

Sky News

* Retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc is to launch an investigation following claims aired in a documentary that conditions are "worse than a prison". (http://bit.ly/2hLTBK1)

* Rentokil Initial Plc, the support services group, has agreed a deal to combine parts of its workwear and hygiene units with Haniel, a privately owned German company. (http://bit.ly/2hLYQtx)

The Independent

* European pay-TV firm Sky Plc has agreed to a takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox for 11.7 billion pounds ($14.53 billion)in a deal that could create one of the most powerful media groups in the UK. (http://ind.pn/2hLPf5E)

* The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.25 percent - but the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee's latest meeting also state that the recent strengthening of sterling is likely to help contain inflation. (http://ind.pn/2hLW86X) ($1 = 0.8053 pounds) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)