Oct 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

- SoftBank is offloading its stake in THG, the UK ecommerce group, for about 31 million pounds ($35.24 million), bringing to an end a disastrous investment that was once worth about 500 million pounds ($568.35 million).

- Hargreaves Lansdown said on Monday its Chief Executive Officer Chris Hill would step down in November next year, after more than five years in the role, despite having the vast majority of his growth plan still to execute.

The Guardian

- The UK government confirmed on Monday it had entered discussions with Tata Steel, owner of the UK's largest steelworks in Port Talbot, and Jingye Group, which bought British Steel out of insolvency in 2020, amid concerns that thousands of jobs could be lost from the struggling industry.

- Bensons for Beds, owned by private equity group Alteri Investors, has bought Eve Sleep hours after the online mattress specialist called in administrators, having succumbed to what its chief executive described as an "economic tsunami".

The Telegraph

- Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, is expected to see UK Prime Minister Liz Truss within the next 36 hours to convey backbench Tory MPs' concerns over the turbulence of recent days, senior Conservatives said on Monday night.

Sky News

- UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has revealed he is reversing "almost all" of the tax cuts announced in his predecessor's mini-budget and is scaling back support for energy bills.

- City stockbroker, Panmure Gordon, controlled by former Barclays chief Bob Diamond, is plotting a merger with one of its listed rivals, FinnCap, as a slowdown in corporate activity drives a search for bigger cost savings. ($1 = 0.8797 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)