PRESS DIGEST-British Business - October 1

Oct 1(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’s biggest alternative network Cityfibre, which is backed by investors including Goldman Sachs GS.N and Mubadala, has almost doubled the number of customers after striking a wholesale deal with Sky, as it looks to raise more capital to accelerate its buyout of smaller rivals.

- British lender Close Brothers CBRO.L has set a further 33 million pounds ($44.34 million) to cover potential operational and legal costs, and expects handling costs in relation to motor finance commissions to be single-digit millions of pounds in fiscal year 2026.

The Guardian

- Almost a third of workers at the Prax Lindsey oil refinery in north Lincolnshire, which collapsed into administration this summer, will lose their jobs at the end of October.

The Telegraph

- Spotify SPOT.N founder-CEO Daniel Ek will step down to become executive chairman in January as it adopts a new co-CEO structure in its strategy to fend off rivals and shore up its profit margin.

Sky News

- The group of lenders which want to take control of Britain’s water utility Thames Water and keep it out of government ownership are to pledge to Ofwat that they will not offload the company before the end of the decade.

- Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners CVC.AS is to explore options for the sale of its long-held stake in Domestic & General, one of Britain's providers of electrical goods insurance.

The Independent

- Royal Mail’s owner, International Distribution Services, has bought a multi-million pound stake in parcel company Collect+, with part of the deal meaning about 8,000 stores will now be branded Royal Mail.

($1 = 0.7443 pounds)