PRESS DIGEST-British Business - June 12

June 12 (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 UK High Court has ordered insurers including AIG AIG.N, Lloyd’s, and Chubb CB.BN to pay AerCap AER.N over $1 billion for aircraft stranded in Russia since the Ukraine invasion, marking a major legal win under war risk insurance coverage.

- KKR KKR.N and Stonepeak’s 1.7 billion pound ($2.31 billion) all-cash bid for NHS landlord Assura AGRP.L has been recommended by the board over a higher but riskier merger offer from Primary Health Properties PHP.L, citing greater financial certainty and investment potential despite shareholder concerns over valuation and timing.

The Guardian

- The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Evri’s proposed merger with DHL’s DHLn.DE UK e-commerce arm to assess whether the deal, which would create one of Britain’s largest parcel delivery firms, could significantly reduce competition in the delivery market.

- The UK government has redirected 2.5 billion pounds of the 8.3 billion pounds originally pledged to Great British Energy towards a separate nuclear body for small modular reactors, effectively reducing GB Energy’s budget and sparking internal tensions over the future of clean energy investment.

The Telegraph

- WPP WPP.L, the UK’s largest advertising group, has lost its 1.3 billion pound global media contract with Mars to French rival Publicis PUBP.PA, marking a major setback amid client losses, leadership changes, and growing competitive pressure from tech giants and AI-driven disruption.

- UAE state oil giant Adnoc is exploring a potential bid for BP’s BP.L liquefied natural gas assets, as part of its global expansion strategy through its new unit XRG, amid BP’s asset sale plans and ongoing pressure from activist investors to boost performance.

Sky News

- The UK and EU have reached a post-Brexit agreement on Gibraltar, introducing joint border checks at the airport by Spanish and Gibraltarian officials while preserving British sovereignty, aiming to ease cross-border movement and reset broader UK-EU relations.

- UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has raised the issue of British Steel’s government takeover with China’s commerce minister, amid tensions with Chinese owner Jingye Group, which is seeking to recover investments after the Scunthorpe-based firm was seized in April to prevent furnace closures and job losses.

($1 = 0.7367 pounds)