What the Sunday papers said

Punch Taverns, the UK's largest pubco, wants to convert into a property company in a move that could create a £750m windfall for shareholders. The group is about to ask the taxman for permission to turn the company into a real estate investment trust (REIT). Analysts say Punch keeps £750m in reserve for tax on property sales and could return this money in a one-off payment to investors if it becomes a REIT. A Punch spokesman said the group was evaluating the opportunities REITs provided but said the matter was at an exploratory phase. - Sunday Express​

Britain's biggest bingo operators are to join forces to persuade the government to change the laws governing their operations. The move is designed to prevent what many believe will be a rash of bingo hall closures, possibly as many as 200 of the country's 800 sites, once the impact of the incoming smoking ban in England takes hold later this year. Among the measures the industry is looking for is the scrapping of VAT on bingo takings. - Sunday Times​

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt is at the centre of a 'cash-for-access' row after it emerged an American junk food bosses to attend a fund-raising dinner she hosted. PepsiCo paid £400 for tickets to the £40-a-plate event in aid of Ms Hewitt's local Labour party. The thousands of pounds raised by the dinner will be used to fund Ms Hewitt's re-election campaign. PepsiCo said its executives attended the dinner because of its role as a major local business - its Walker's crisps factory is in Leicester, near Ms Hewitt's constituency. - Mail On Sunday​

Cabinet minister and prospective deputy Labour leader candidate Peter Hain has called for the gap between chief executives' pay and that of their junior staff to be narrowed. Hain is against setting a national maximum salary, but says that with executives earning 120 times the average staff wage, excess pay has "an impact on society". - Observer​