PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Aug 20

Aug 20 (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

- Boris Johnson has said he is "confident" that the European Union will back down over his demands for the Irish backstop to be scrapped. He acknowledged there was "reluctance" in Europe about his demands for the backstop - the plan to prevent a hard border with Ireland in all circumstances - to be axed. http://bit.ly/30i6uOT

- UK ministers were accused of "concealing the facts" over a no-deal Brexit on Monday as business leaders expressed fury over leaked government documents that outlined the prospect of widespread disruption. http://bit.ly/30iAiuF

The Guardian

- Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that Boris Johnson immediately publish the Operation Yellowhammer assessments of how disruptive a no-deal Brexit would be after ministers claimed a leaked version from less than three weeks ago was out of date and full of scaremongering. http://bit.ly/30kF3ni

- Plans to end freedom of movement for EU citizens immediately after a no-deal Brexit have caused anxiety and confusion among European nationals in the UK. http://bit.ly/30hhz2p

The Telegraph

- Jaguar Land Rover is planning a giant parts distribution warehouse in the Midlands in the latest phase of a 2.5 billion pound ($3.03 billion) cost-cutting programme. Britain's biggest carmaker is working with developer IM Properties as it seeks planning permission for the 2.94m square-foot warehouse between Birmingham and Leicester. http://bit.ly/2Z9hTDh

- Ryanair Holdings Plc has made a last-ditch attempt to stop 180 Dublin-based pilots from walking out at the end of this week. Bosses sought an injunction from Ireland's High Court on Monday to prevent Irish trade union Forsa from holding a strike on Thursday and Friday in a dispute over pay and conditions. http://bit.ly/2ZfeeDN

Sky News

- Britain's largest pub and brewery company, Greene King , has agreed to a 4.6 billion pound takeover by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate. CK Asset Holdings, founded by Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, will pay 2.7 billion pounds for the 220-year old brewery company and take on its debt, worth an additional 1.9 billion pounds. http://bit.ly/2Z9UCkF

- The engineering division of British Steel is racing to secure a sale days after Turkey's military pension fund secured the exclusive right‎ to buy the UK's second-largest steel producer. TSP Projects and the Official Receiver are trying to persuade the holder of a floating charge over TSP's assets to release it in order to smooth a takeover of the unit by France's Systra. http://bit.ly/2Zfera3

The Independent

- Boris Johnson has dismissed calls to immediately release official assessments on the impact of a no-deal Brexit after labelling potential food and medicine shortages as just "bumps in the road". Downing Street had said that the leaked dossier on the impact of no deal - warning of shortages, possible recession and months of chaos at ports - was outdated. http://bit.ly/2ZjlYEM

($1 = 0.8246 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)