March 24 (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
- Banks will pay millions of pounds in fees to the UK government as part of the emergency coronavirus loans launched to help small businesses following a last-minute intervention by Brussels. https:// British broadcaster ITV Plc ITV.L has scrapped its dividend after advertisers cut spending due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus. https:// Guardian
- Disney DIS.N is pressing ahead with the UK and western European launch of its Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) challenger, Disney+, on Tuesday as streaming and TV viewing surges with coronavirus keeping millions of people at home. https:// British government has chosen the medical ventilators it believes can be rapidly produced to equip the NHS with 30,000 machines needed to cope with an upsurge in COVID-19 patients. https:// Telegraph
- Thousands of retail, hospitality and leisure firms in UK have been given a last-minute reprieve to allow them to suspend rent payments to landlords for at least three months. https:// UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is under mounting pressure to protect the livelihoods of five million self-employed workers as many face disaster during the coronavirus lockdown. https:// News
- Britain's Deliveroo has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to relieve the pressure on Britain's supermarkets by launching an information campaign to promote the safety of restaurant food as thousands of outlets face insolvency. https:// One of Britain's fastest-growing energy suppliers, Octopus Energy, has been holding talks to sell a big stake to a major Australian utility, Origin Energy ORG.AX even as the COVID-19 pandemic throws global deal-making activity off course. https:// Independent
- UK rail Franchise agreements to run trains across the country will be suspended for six months, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. https:// = 0.8634 pounds)