PRESS DIGEST - SUNDAY BRITISH BUSINESS - MARCH 24

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - British newspapers reported the following business stories on Sunday:

The Sunday Times LLOYDS HANDS A MILLION TO 20 BANKERS

Lloyds will reveal this week that it paid more than 20 of its staff one million pounds or more last year, stoking the row over bankers' pay.

VODAFONE LINES UP $135 BLN EXIT FROM AMERICA Vodafone has held talks with U.S. partner Verizon

over the sale of its 45 percent stake in the mobile phone operator that could see Britain's second biggest company leave America and bank $135 billion.

JAGUAR TURNS TO CHINA FOR $1 BLN FUNDRAISING

Jaguar Land Rover is preparing to raise $1 billion from Chinese investors with a bond issue in Beijing or Shanghai later this year.

RESCUE ARRIVES FOR JURYS INN

The struggling hotel chain will get a 160-million-pound cash injection and have nearly two-thirds of its borrowings wiped out under a debt-for-equity swap by main lender RBS , as part of a rescue that is expected to be completed this week.

GOLDEN HELLO GREETS COBHAM'S U.S. CHIEF

The American boss of FTSE 250 defence company Cobham has been handed a 'golden hello' of 816,000 pounds plus a 131,000 pounds annual expatriation payment to cover the cost of a British home and flights to the United States.

BIDDERS EYE ULSTER GAS PIPELINES

Macquarie , Hastings Funds Management and CVC are among the bidders lining up for the 700-million-pound sale of Phoenix Group, the largest gas distribution business in Northern Ireland that is owned by financier Guy Hands.

SHORT SELLERS STALK ARGOS

Hedge funds have placed a 260-million-pound bet that shares Home Retail Group , the owner of retailers Argos and Homebase, will fall.

ARM BOSS'S 16 MILLION POUND FAREWELL

Warren East, the chief executive of British technology firm ARM Holdings , will receive 16 million pounds when he leaves the chip designer in the summer.

The Sunday Telegraph PM IN PRICE CLASH WITH ENERGY FIRMS

Britain's biggest energy suppliers have attacked the prime minister's plans to overhaul the household supply market, claiming reforms to simplify the system could push up bills.

FEARS GROW AS BANKS REVEAL EXPOSURE TO CYPRUS EURO CRISIS British banks Lloyds, RBS, Barclays and HSBC

have a combined exposure of more than one billion pounds to Cyprus, raising the prospect of new losses for the lenders.

MERLIN'S RECORD PROFITS PAVE WAY FOR 3.5 BLN STG IPO

Merlin Entertainments, which owns the London Eye and Madame Tussauds, is paving the way for a 3.5 billion flotation as it gets ready to announce record profits of 350 million pounds.

DIAGEO MOVES TO RAISE STAKE IN CHINA DRINKS GIANT

Diageo is in talks with the Chinese authorities to up its 53 percent stake in Quanxing, the company behind drinks brand ShuiJingFang.

The Mail on Sunday CAYMANS TO INFORM ON TAX DODGES

Wealthy UK citizens with cash in the Cayman Islands will be hit with big tax bills after an agreement between Britain and the Carribean territory.

SORRELL READY TO TAKE PAY CUT TO PLACATE SHAREHOLDER OUTRAGE

Martin Sorrell, boss of the world's biggest advertising company WPP , is set to take a pay cut and embrace more demanding bonus targets to appease investors angry at his 13 million pound pay packet.

(Reporting by Tom Bill; Editing by Mark Potter)

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Keywords: PRESS DIGEST/BRITISH BUSINESS