PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Feb 7

Feb 7 (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 Telegraph

ALLIANCE BOOTS FUND MAKES FIRST ACQUISITION

A private equity group launched last year by retail giant Alliance Boots Href="NewsSearch">ABN.UL has made its first acquisition, buying a luxury aromatherapy company based in Middlesex. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/gyr66v)

ANGLO IRISH CHIEFS 'FIXED WEB OF LOANS TO PROP UP BANK'

Anglo Irish Bank executives hunted for investors across Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. in the months before its collapse in an effort to fund a doomed attempt to prop up its share price. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/fyr66v)

NEWS CORP RESULTS HIT BY FALLING AD REVENUE

News Corp NWSA.O said revenue at its news and information services unit fell 9 percent to $1.6 billion on soft advertising and subscription sales, especially in Australia. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/dyr66v)

The Guardian

BARCLAYS PREDICTED TO PAY MORE IN BONUSES THAN LAST YEAR

Barclays BARC.L will begin to hand out bonuses on Friday to its 140,000 staff around the world from a bonus pool expected to be bigger than last year's. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/hyr66v)

BOMBARDIER UK WINS 1 BLN STG CROSSRAIL CONTRACT

Bombardier UK has fought off competition from foreign bidders to win the 1 billion pound ($1.63 billion) contract to build trains for London's Crossrail project. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/jyr66v)

The Times

PROPERTY BOOM TO PUSH SPENDING BY BRITONS 'PAST 1 TLN STG'

Consumers will be opening their wallets this year at the fastest pace in more than a decade and push household spending above 1 trillion pounds for the first time, a leading think-tank has forecast. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/cas66v)

SUPERGROUP WINS SUPPORT FOR NEW LOOK

The resolution of SuperGroup's SGP.L founder to avoid selling stock on eBay EBAY.O has been rewarded with an increase in sales and margins. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/kyr66v)

The Independent

ASTRAZENECA HIT BY PATENT EXPIRIES AS SALES SLUMP

Drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L has showed it is still languishing in intensive care after patent expiries triggered an 8 percent fall in revenue to $25.71 billion. ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/myr66v)

RYANAIR BOSS MICHAEL O'LEARY: 'UK AIRPORTS NEED MORE RUNWAYS'

Ryanair RYA.I boss Michael O'Leary expects three more runways to be built at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted and says locals should not be able to block plans because they "chose to be a resident under a flight path". ( Href="Link">http://link.reuters.com/qyr66v)

BSKYB CHIEF JEREMY DARROCH JOINS BURBERRY BOARD

Luxury brand Burberry BRBY.L has bolstered its boards' media credentials with the appointment of British Sky Broadcasting BSY.L Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch. (http://link.reuters.com/pyr66v)

($1 = 0.6125 British pounds)

(Compiled by Richa Naidu in Bangalore)

((richa.naidu@thomsonreuters.com)(within UK +44 20 7542 1810, outside UK +91 806 749 4939)(Reuters Messaging: richa.naidu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: BRITAIN PRESS/BUSINESS