March 22 (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

- Nationwide has warned of eventual "headcount reductions" among the 7,300 staff at Virgin Money UK as the building society pushed its agreed 2.9 billion pound ($3.67 billion) takeover of the listed bank over the line.

- After two rejected takeover offers by the Belgian insurer Ageas, Direct Line has promised cost savings of 100 million pounds and set itself a target for wider insurance margins.

The Guardian

- The UAE-backed bid for the Telegraph group appears to be dead in the water after the UK published proposed laws that ban foreign states or government officials from holding any direct stakes in newspaper assets.

- British women affected by an unexpected rise in the age at which they were entitled to receive a state pension should be compensated as the government communicated the change inadequately, a report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said on Thursday.

The Telegraph

- Waitrose is putting more than 500 jobs at risk as the grocer prepares to shut a north London warehouse it opened just four years ago.

- As part of the AUKUS defence pact with Britain and the U.S., BAE Systems won a multi-billion pound contract to build Australia's next-generation nuclear-powered submarines along with domestic defence company ASC Pty and deliver the vessels in the early 2040s.

Sky News

- The next stage of Britain's Rwanda bill's progress has been delayed until after the Easter recess as it remains stuck in parliamentary limbo.

- Carlyle is among a pack of suitors circling RSK, a British-based environmental consultancy, in a deal that would value it at well over 1 billion pounds.

The Independent

- Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the economy is "not yet at the point" where rates can be lowered, but said things are "moving in the right direction", giving a clear sign that cuts could be on the way, after voting to keep interest rates unchanged.

($1 = 0.7901 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)