(Adds company news item, futures) Jan 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 23 points higher at 7,638.4 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.20 percent ahead of the cash market open. * ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca said its inhaler for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) showed improved lung function in a late stage trial that could challenge GlaxoSmithKline's new three-in-one inhaler. * HICL: HICL Infrastructure , an infrastructure investment firm, said the collapse of Carillion had triggered loan agreement defaults at its projects and management subcontracts with the construction outsourcing company. * GVC: GVC Holdings has made a provision of about 200 million euros ($250 million) in its 2017 accounts after its Greek unit was slapped with a tax bill from a local authority. * BT: BT still has work to do to restore shareholders' confidence after a difficult year that saw its shares plunge in the wake of an Italian accounting scandal, according to one of Britain's leading investor groups. * CARILLION: The completion of new buildings at six schools in Ireland will be delayed by several weeks due to the collapse of Carillion, the government said. * The UK blue chip index closed down 0.4 percent at 7,612.61 points on Thursday, with the pound on track for its best month against the dollar in almost nine years and at its highest since the June 2016 Brexit referendum. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru)