Oct 10 (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 average rental price for new tenancies rose to 927 pounds ($1,218) a month in September, compared with 908 pounds in the same month last year, suggesting that rents have not yet reached the peak of affordability, despite rising inflation, sluggish wage growth and economic uncertainty. http://bit.ly/2fWTDMh

Statoil ASA has highlighted its continued appetite for investing in the North Sea after finding an oil deposit that could contain up to 130 million barrels. http://bit.ly/2ySVWYk

The Guardian

Former British prime minister David Cameron has taken a job with the electronic payments firm First Data Corp, his first major private sector job since leaving office. http://bit.ly/2zaiyV6

Britain's switch to greener energy will take another significant step forward this week with the opening of an industrial-scale battery site in Sheffield. http://bit.ly/2fVtT2M

The Telegraph

The UK government is under scrutiny by European competition authorities over allegations of providing illegal state aid to BT Group Plc via the business rates regime, amid plans to boost investment in Britain's broadband infrastructure with new tax breaks. http://bit.ly/2yc4Ked

The majority owner of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Plc has moved to take the company private with a bid that values the UK-listed business at 1.8 billion pounds. http://bit.ly/2yBCPpz

Sky News

In an interview for Sky News, eBay Inc's UK Vice President Rob Hattrell said that Brexit was "an opportunity" for the companies that used eBay's trading platform. http://bit.ly/2g7EETA

BAE Systems Plc, Britain's biggest defence contractor, is to axe more than 1,000 jobs this week in a bitter blow for Britain's manufacturing industry. http://bit.ly/2y74bAQ

The Independent

Royal Mail Plc has said that it will lodge an application with the High Court for an injunction to prevent a 48-hour strike from happening, in a dispute over pensions and pay. http://ind.pn/2gottTw

Tens of thousands of airline passengers have been told their flights have been cancelled by the latest French air traffic control strikes. The main air-traffic controllers' unions are stopping work as part of a national strike against the labour reform policies of President Emmanuel Macron. http://ind.pn/2g6JhgB

($1 = 0.7612 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)