PRESS DIGEST-British Business - November 19

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)