PRESS DIGEST-British Business - Aug 19

Aug 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

- London's Soho House SHCO.N is to draw a line under its turbulent life as a public company after the operator of private members' clubs loved by rock stars and royals agreed to be taken private in a $1.8 billion (1.33 billion pounds) deal.

- British motorists can now lease a Tesla TSLA.O electric vehicle for just over half what it cost a year ago, as Elon Musk's company attempts to boost its flagging sales in the UK.

The Guardian

- UK's finance minister Rachel Reeves is considering a new tax on the sale of homes worth more than 500,000 pounds as a step towards a radical overhaul of stamp duty and council tax, the Guardian has been told.

- UK metals companies have threatened to take legal action against the government over tariffs on raw steel imports from Asia which they claim have caused a tsunami of problems for the industry.

The Telegraph

- E-commerce giant Amazon AMZN.O has been accused of driving up prices for Britons in a new lawsuit seeking to secure refunds for 45 million UK shoppers.

- Swiss watchmaker Swatch UHR.S has scrapped an advert featuring an Asian model pulling his eyes upwards and backwards following an outcry on social media.

Sky News

- U.S. BlackRock BLK.N, the world's biggest asset manager, is backing a controversial bid by the metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta to retain control of his faltering UK steel empire.

- Redundancies are to begin on Tuesday at the UK's largest bioethanol plant said owners Vivergo Fuels, which is to close after the government refused to offer a bailout.