PRESS DIGEST- British Business - May 18

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May 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

The owner of Carluccio's, Dubai-based Landmark Group, has promised to pump 10 million pounds ($13.52 million) of new investment into the restaurant chain if a company voluntary arrangement is approved. http://bit.ly/2Ivg8sE

Senior staff from the Big Four accounting firms have been shunned by John Kingman as he hires experts to advise him on his review into the future of the accounting regulator. Kingman will on Friday name an 11-person advisory panel, which is to examine the Financial Reporting Council. http://bit.ly/2IOCeFG

The Guardian

The European Union has put itself on a collision course with the United States over Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, as major European firms started to pull out of the country to avoid being hit by sanctions. http://bit.ly/2Iq7fQR

A smaller proportion of UK workers are low paid than at any time since the early 1980s, due to above-inflation increases in the government's national living wage, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation thinktank. http://bit.ly/2Is9zXs

The Telegraph

PayPal Holdings Inc is swooping for Swedish payments start-up iZettle in a $2.2bn all-cash deal, as it seeks to create a "one-stop shop" for transactions. http://bit.ly/2Iq9S5e

The international cable giant Liberty Global Plc has launched a hunt for a new leader for its British operation Virgin Media, to work alongside Chief Executive Tom Mockridge as he prepares to step down. http://bit.ly/2IrM1Cf

Sky News

Ocado Group Plc has signed an exclusive partnership with second-biggest U.S. supermarket chain Kroger Co - sending the UK online grocer's shares to record levels. http://bit.ly/2IN0N5L

The UK government is to clamp down on the "social blight" of fixed-odds betting terminals by cutting the maximum amount people can stake on the machines to 2 pounds. http://bit.ly/2IrwJ0m

The Independent

The number of apprenticeship starts in Britain dropped 40 percent year on year in February, according to the most recent available statistics from the government. https://ind.pn/2IPk3zC ($1 = 0.7399 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)