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

- British online retailer N Brown Group BWNG.L

agreed to a 191 million pound ($248.72 million) takeover led by its majority shareholder Joshua Alliance.

- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rebuked senior members of his cabinet after they appealed to him to reverse planned spending cuts in finance minister Rachel Reeves's first budget.

The Guardian

- Tesco TSCO.L has struck a deal to buy enough solar power to run 144 of its large supermarkets, buying almost two-thirds of the entire electricity output from the Cleve Hill solar park in Kent.

- British finance minister Rachel Reeves and deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner are at a standoff over a major programme of social house building.

The Telegraph

- British supermarket chain Sainsbury's SBRY.L is trying larger self-checkout tills in place of human cashiers after its boss defended a drive to make stores "more efficient".

- Guardian journalists are set to vote on potential strike action as anger grows over plans to sell its Sunday sister title, The Observer, to Tortoise, a start-up founded by former BBC News boss James Harding.

Sky News

- Wagamama owner, The Restaurant Group, has begun exploring a 300 million pound ($390.66 million) refinancing as it seeks to reduce its borrowing costs by locking in lower interest rates.

- Mothercare MTC.L has formed a joint venture with Reliance Brands Holding UK, a unit of India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS, and said it had refinanced its existing debt facilities with Gordon Brothers.

($1 = 0.7679 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)