July 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

- CVC, the private equity backer of Six Nations Rugby is

weighing up a bid for The Telegraph as the newspaper is put up

for sale for a second time in 12 months.

- Nationwide members have given their near-unanimous

backing to Debbie Crosbie to remain as chief executive, despite

doubts about the proposed 2.9 billion pounds ($3.77 billion)

tie-up with Virgin Money.

The Guardian

- The Body Shop is close to being bought out of

administration after it agreed to exclusive rescue talks with a

consortium led by the British cosmetics tycoon Mike Jatania.

- The TUC has insisted the battle for union recognition at

Amazon ( AMZN ) will go on, after workers at the US retailer's

Coventry warehouse rejected the right to collective bargaining

by a majority of just 29 votes.

The Telegraph

- Europe's biggest bank HSBC ( HSBC ) has named Georges

Elhedery, its first Mandarin-speaking chief executive, amid

investor pressure to shift its headquarters to China.

- Britain has become the first country in Europe to approve

lab-grown meat, paving the way for cultivated chicken to be sold

in pet stores as early as this year.

Sky News

- An arm of BlackRock ( BLK ), the world's biggest asset

manager, is plotting a bid to acquire a big stake in a major

contractor to Thames Water even as the UK's largest water

utility hovers close to collapse.

- Inspired Pet Nutrition, which is owned by the private

equity firm Capvest, is in talks to buy independent rival

Butchers.

The Independent

- Opponents of Brexit have warned that the latest figures

from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirm that leaving

the EU "has drained the life out of the British economy".

($1 = 0.7692 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)