Dec 13 (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

* A DNA analysis company Oxford Nanopore has raised £100 million ($126.77 million) in a private placing, giving it a valuation of £1.25 billion ($1.58 billion). The investment will cement the company's status in Europe as one of just a handful of biotech unicorns, private, fast-growing companies valued at more than a billion dollars or pounds. http://bit.ly/2hxw6V1

The Guardian

* Lloyds Banking Group Plc is failing to meet "fee-free" guidelines for millions of its basic bank accounts, which are typically held by people on low incomes, according to data published by the Treasury. http://bit.ly/2hxvsH5

* Households in Britain face further pressure from rising inflation as experts predicted a surge in petrol prices following an agreement by oil producers to cut global output. http://bit.ly/2hxz6R8

The Telegraph

* Barclays Plc has sold-off its retail banking operations in Europe with a deal to offload its French consumer businesses to private equity firm AnaCap. http://bit.ly/2hxEnYY

* Brexit minister David Davis met on Monday with representatives of Britain's leading automotive businesses including Jaguar Land Rover and Ford Motor Co on what the future holds for the sector which directly employs 170,000 in the United Kingdom in manufacturing and supports more than 800,000 jobs. http://bit.ly/2hxyICb

Sky News

* British Culture Minister Matt Hancock has said that the government will be "scrupulously fair and impartial" in its handling of 21st Century Fox Inc's takeover bid for Sky Plc, the owner of Sky News. http://bit.ly/2hxxSWr

* Post Office workers in Britain are to stage five days of strikes in the week leading up to Christmas. The strike next week follows a dispute with management over job losses, the closure of a final salary pension scheme and branches being shut. http://bit.ly/2hxzgIk

The Independent

* Sky shareholders have demanded a higher takeover price from Rupert Murdoch's Fox and reassurances over the independence of the media mogul's son. Fox tabled a £10.75 ($13.63) per share offer on Friday, valuing Sky at £18.5 billion ($23.45 billion). http://ind.pn/2hxtS88

* The online fashion retailer Asos Plc will hire an extra 1,500 people over the next three years as it plans to expand its London operation. http://ind.pn/2hxoHF8 ($1 = 0.7888 pounds) (Compiled by Bhanu Pratap in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)