Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.

Bidders for Just Eat (JE.)  have increased their offers as a deadline to secure a takeover of the food delivery giant edges closer. Prosus, which is owned by South African investment giant Naspers, said it was ramping up its all-cash offer from £5.1billion to £5.5billion, or 800p per share. It said the latest move was its ‘final’ offer, ahead of a cut-off point in January, by when it must garner support. But within minutes, rival Takeaway.com also announced an improved bid for Just Eat. Takeaway.com, which is based in the Netherlands, has proposed an all-share merger with Just Eat that is supported by the company’s board. And yesterday it attempted to sweeten the deal, offering Just Eat’s shareholders a bigger slice of the enlarged company – 57.5% instead of 52.1%. ‘This is our best and final offer,’ Takeaway.com added - The Mail

Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)  new chief executive has removed the management of its loss-making investment bank, raising expectations of deep cuts to the division. Chris Marks, 48, chief executive of Natwest Markets, and Richard Place, 54, chief financial officer, have stepped down. The bank has begun a search for successors, with two insiders replacing them on an interim basis. RBS’s investment bank has been shrunk dramatically since the financial crisis, as part of the bank’s drive to cut costs and in recognition of its government-backed agenda to move from high-risk trading into more straightforward activities financing businesses in the UK. There have been increasing signs that Alison Rose, 50, who took over the top job at RBS on November 1, intends to make further cuts to the division, in response to its struggle to make returns that justify costs - The Times

A Portuguese lollipop tycoon has rekindled a fight with the board of vodka and gin maker Stock Spirits Group (STCK)  by demanding it pays out more than £20m to shareholders. Luis Amaral, Portugal’s eighth-richest person, called on Stock Spirits to fork out the €25m (£21m) special dividend and accused the firm of hoarding cash. His company Western Gate Private Investments said shareholders are stuck between a management team which has been boosting performance, and a board “that is unwilling to return cash to patient investors”. The company said it would consider extra pay-outs if the cash cannot be better spent on takeovers. Western Gate is Stock Spirits’ second-largest shareholder with a 10% stake - The Telegraph

Investors have rebuked Playtech (PTEC)  over a bonus scheme that could hand the boss of the gambling software supplier shares worth more than £30 million. More than 45% of the votes cast at a shareholder meeting held yesterday to approve the bonus plan opposed granting the award. It is the latest investor revolt over executive pay at Playtech and is likely to raise further questions about its corporate governance. The bonus scheme is for nil-cost options over 1.9 million shares. It pays out if Playtech trades above certain levels for 30 business days running and is capped at £16. Mr Weizer will receive shares valued at £30.4 million if the ceiling is reached - The Times

Plant Health Care (PHC)  warned that revenue will miss forecasts this year after it was hit with last-minute disruptions. Bureaucratic problems in Brazil, where import licences have been held up, and a delay to a customer order mean its turnover will be around £5million this year. It made £6.1million in 2018. The firm, which makes biological products that agricultural groups can put on seeds and crops, was knocked by similar problems last year - The Mail

NMC Health (NMC)  has concluded that Muddy Waters highly critical report was “false and misleading”. NMC Health issued its findings from an internal review yesterday, three days after Muddy Waters made a series of allegations. Muddy Waters had taken a short position before publishing the 34-page report on Tuesday, which said that it had “serious doubts about NMC’s financial statements, including its asset values, cash balance and reported profits and debts”. It said that it had addressed the “main areas of focus from conversations with shareholders” and referred to “factual inaccuracies” - The Times

British Airways has taken a nosedive in UK passengers’ opinions and is now rated just above Ryanair at the bottom end of the airline rankings. The flag carrier was among the worst rated for food, seat comfort and value for money on both short and long-haul services in the annual Which? poll. BA questioned the accuracy of the survey, which is based on 6,500 readers’ opinions rather than comprehensive data, and found the best short-haul airline to be Aurigny Air, a small Channel Islands turboprop operator. However, the results will make for further unwelcome reading for BA, the formerly self-proclaimed “world’s favourite airline”, which celebrated a centenary this year. In the short-haul table, BA only beat Vueling, which is also part of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) , and Ryanair, which once again came last - The Guardian

An activist shareholder has turned up the pressure for a shake-up at Stock Spirits Group (STCK) , calling for fellow investors in the Polish vodka-maker to force the board to pay a special dividend. Western Gate Private Investments, which represents the family office of Luís Amaral, a Portuguese cash-and-carry tycoon with a 10% stake in Stock, questioned its strategy. Shareholders were “stuck in the middle” between a management improving the group’s operating performance and a board that was “unwilling to return cash to patient investors”, it said. The result was “a mid-cap company that is neither growing or delivering returns”. It said that despite its low debt ratio, Stock offered one of the lowest cash returns to shareholders among its peers with a dividend payout of 60.5% compared with an average of 71.3% for the sector. Western Gate, the biggest shareholder, said three acquisitions totalling €47.5 million since 2017 would not produce any returns until 2023 and called for a special dividend of €0.1219 per share - The Times