Feb 4 (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

- The Very Group has replaced HSBC HSBA.L as the bank running its customer loan portfolio, after the high street lender ordered the sale of other assets owned by the Barclay family.

- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned Europe's leaders that he will not take sides in a trade war with Donald Trump, saying it was in Britain's "vital interests" to avoid a conflict with its most important allies.

The Guardian

- UK's science minister, Chris Bryant, has described AstraZeneca's AZN.L decision to scrap plans for a 450 million pound ($558.77 million) expansion of its vaccine plant in Merseyside as "deeply disappointing".

- Thousands of Asda workers have won the latest stage in a decade-long equal pay case against the supermarket that could lead to a payout worth 1.2 billion pounds.

The Telegraph

- U.S President Donald Trump is considering plans to impose a 10% tariff on the EU.

- Jaguar Land Rover's decision to build its Defender model in the EU after Brexit is at risk of backfiring as Donald Trump threatens Brussels with sweeping tariffs.

Sky News

- KKR KKR.N is working with bankers at PJT Partners on an offer to participate in a deal to keep Thames Water out of special administration.

- Thames Water will seek High Court approval for a 3 billion pounds rescue plan in a four-day hearing beginning at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday.

The Independent

- A team of researchers at the University of California, claim to have reproduced Deepseek's viral AI chatbot for just $30.

($1 = 0.8053 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))