PRESS DIGEST-British Business - June 3

June 3 (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

- Former UK trade minister Greg Hands has been appointed as a strategic adviser to Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech billionaire investor who clinched the takeover of Royal Mail's owner.

- Pharma firm Indivior INDV.L said it would cancel its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, effective July 25, maintaining its primary listing on the Nasdaq to reduce costs and better align with its U.S.-centric business.

The Guardian

- Vodafone VOD.L has promised to invest more than 1 billion pounds ($1.35 billion) in expanding its network coverage in the next year, as it sealed a 16.5 billion-pound merger with its former mobile rival Three UK.

- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to make Britain "battle-ready" as he unveiled a defence review designed to counter threats from countries such as Russia, which he warned directly threatened the UK every day.

The Telegraph

- Marks & Spencer's MKS.L Chief Executive Stuart Machin saw his total pay package increase 39% to 7.1 million pounds in the British retailer's 2024-25 financial year.

- Willie Walsh, the head of a global airlines industry body, said the soaring cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as well as poor demand, meant passengers faced even higher ticket prices.

Sky News

- NatWest Group NWG.L named Solange Chamberlain, director of strategic development, as the CEO of its retail bank, in its first appointment by the UK lender after the country's government exited its full ownership.

- Tide, the business banking services platform, is in advanced talks to raise new funding at $1 billion valuation.

The Independent

- Belfast-based tech company ANGOKA has announced a near 2 million-pound investment in creating cybersecurity software for the manufacturing sector.

($1 = 0.7392 pounds)