Feb 1 - 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

- Sharon White, the head of Ofcom, has expressed her concerns to Europe's regulators that the takeover of O2 by Three, its smaller rival, will lead to less competition and higher prices. (http://thetim.es/1UBiqlg)

- J Sainsbury Plc has been speaking to Home Retail Group Plc's leading shareholders and has been told by the company's largest investor that the offer must rise to at least 160p, or £1.3 billion. (http://thetim.es/1UBiwcS)

The Guardian

- A senior government minister has admitted the tax settlement between Google and the UK government "was not a glorious moment". The admission by the business secretary, Sajid Javid, came as a senior executive from Google claimed he could not say how much UK profit has been generated by the technology firm in the past decade, or how many meetings had been held between the company's executives and ministers. (http://bit.ly/1UBiC47)

- Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG are paying more than $150m to settle charges that they misled investors who used their dark pool trading platforms. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York attorney general are expected to announce the settlement on Monday. (http://bit.ly/1UBiHF2)

The Telegraph

- Hitachi will continue to invest in the UK even if the country votes to leave the European Union, according to its chief executive. Hiroaki Nakanishi, who is also chairman of the Japanese industrial giant, said he discussed with Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, last month how a British exit from the EU could be made "feasible". (http://bit.ly/1UBiNwd)

- Sky has backed the bid to merge Three with rival mobile operator O2 as Brussels competition watchdogs prepare to lay out their problems with the takeover. The European Commission is due to issue Hutchison with a formal statement of objections on Tuesday stretching to hundreds of pages. (http://bit.ly/1UBiUYA)

Sky News

- An investment firm owned by the taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group is in advanced talks to buy CitySprint, one of Britain's biggest same-day delivery companies. LDC has entered exclusive talks to buy CitySprint even as technology giants such as Amazon and Uber seek to exploit their distribution networks to win business held by traditional courier firms. (http://bit.ly/1UBj1nf)

- Britain's first new high street bank in more than 100 years has warned investors that an exit from the European Union could damage its prospects. In a copy of a circular to shareholders issued this week, the start-up lender said it faced "risks associated with a vote to exit the EU". (http://bit.ly/1UBjg1q)

The Independent

- The pay gap faced by black workers widens the more qualifications they obtain, according to research revealing the challenges faced by ethnic minority Britons pursuing professional careers. Black graduates leaving university earn an average of 23 per cent less than their white counterparts, the new analysis by TUC shows. (http://ind.pn/1UBjp51)

($1 = 0.7014 pounds) (Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Dan Grebler)