Oct 5 (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

Legal & General Group Plc is backing a scheme to create a 1.8 billion pounds ($2.34 billion) network of science and technology centres in regional cities. http://bit.ly/2NqDj4Z

Sacha Romanovitch, chief executive of Grant Thornton, has hit back at criticism of her leadership of the accountancy firm and said that she has faced misogyny in her job. http://bit.ly/2NohO4o

The Guardian

UK sales of new cars plunged by a fifth in September as new emissions tests caused delivery backlogs, while waning appetite for diesel cars and weaker consumer confidence weighed on demand. http://bit.ly/2NlKdZb

The Telegraph

John Whittaker, the deputy chairman of Lakeside-owner Intu Properties Plc, is mulling a potential deal to take the company private that would value the beleaguered shopping centre developer at more than 2 billion pounds ($2.60 billion). http://bit.ly/2OBuPfW

The European Union is ready to offer Britain a form of "Canada-plus" Brexit trade deal, Donald Tusk has said in a move described as a "superb way forward" by arch-critic Boris Johnson. http://bit.ly/2OHYNP8

Sky News

The engineering arm of Monarch Airlines is this week scrambling to put together a financial restructuring deal amid the threat of a possible winding-up petition from the taxman. http://bit.ly/2OJuVlP

Unilad, the social-first publisher, is to be placed in administration as its current owners battle a series of financial challenges. http://bit.ly/2OBXOA8

The Independent

Mercedes-Benz had been considering moving production to the UK ahead of the EU referendum in 2016, but decided against the move after the vote for Brexit, the carmaker's chief executive has revealed. https://ind.pn/2OBfxHR

($1 = 0.7679 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Sandra Maler)