Nov 19 (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

- Britain is to build a network of new munitions factories to boost its warfighting readiness, in a move aimed at restoring domestic production of military explosives for the first time in nearly two decades.

- Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE.N is seeking nearly $1.8 billion from the estate of the late Mike Lynch over HP's acquisition of his British tech firm Autonomy, the U.S. technology giant's lawyers told London's High Court.

The Guardian

- Norwegian software company Visma has approached Ron Kalifa, a former boss of payments group Worldpay and a director of the Bank of England, to become its chair if it goes ahead with a blockbuster 20 billion euros ($23.14 billion) listing in London next spring.

- Exxon Mobil XOM.N said it would shut its Fife ethylene plant $(FEP)$ in Scotland in February 2026, saying the site is no longer competitive because of high supply costs, weak market conditions and the UK's economic and policy environment.

The Telegraph

- Britain's finance minister, Rachel Reeves, is set toboost spending by 6 billion pounds ($7.88 billion) on benefits in her annual budget, which will be announced next week.

The Independent

- Britain's competition regulator launched investigations into StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold’s Gym, Wayfair W.N, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical over their online pricing issues.

($1 = 0.8642 euros)

($1 = 0.7615 pounds)

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

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