Oct 17 (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
- Nex Group Plc, the electronic trading business run by the Michael Spencer, has announced the departure of Nex Optimisation's Chief Executive Jenny Knott. http://bit.ly/2hJirrN
- Workers at the Vauxhall plant of Ellesmere Port have raised concerns over the future of the factory after new owners, Peugeot SA of France, announced the axing of nearly a quarter of the workforce. http://bit.ly/2hJY4uw
The Guardian
- Gillian Drakeford, the UK chief of Ikea, said she would like to see some clarity over the Brexit stance. "Theresa May talked about a transition period and this would be beneficial for us to adapt to a new trading reality, to allow us to offer products at the best prices", she said. http://bit.ly/2hJieF1
- Npower is allowing its customers to fall as much as 1,600 pounds ($2,118.88) into debt on their energy bills before intervening to help them repay it. http://bit.ly/2hKDgD2
The Telegraph
- Union Unite said on Monday that staff at Capita Plc are planning to stage a nine-day strike over pension terms after talks between the company and the union failed. http://bit.ly/2hKp4tO
- Accountancy firm EY has been fined 2.75 million pounds ($3.64 million) for a series of mistakes in the auditing of a tech company's accounts five years ago. http://bit.ly/2hLziKn
Sky News
- Mike Ashley has put Newcastle United up for sale, bowing to pressure from many fans who had demanded greater investment in the Premier League club. http://bit.ly/2hL2dyi
- Lloyds Banking Group has rejected a bid from Harcus Sinclair, the law firm acting for the group of 6,000 former Lloyds TSB investors, to settle a legal claim over the HBOS merger, days before a trial featuring some of the UK's most prominent financiers is due to begin. http://bit.ly/2hKmkMR
The Independent
- Daimler AG on Monday said it is recalling 400,000 Mercedes-Benz cars in the UK over faulty airbags after reports that they had been prematurely deploying. http://ind.pn/2hKi7ZH
- UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling on Monday said Monarch Airlines had a "moral obligation to contribute" to the cost of the airlift. http://ind.pn/2hKQxvB ($1 = 0.7551 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)