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Sir Ian Cheshire, outgoing chief executive of the B&Q owner, Kingfisher, has become the latest business leader to warn about the impact on investment and consumers if Scotland votes for independence, issuing a rallying call to other executives to speak out. Along with more than 130 other business leaders, he has firmly placed himself in the no camp.
The yes camp
The pro-independence campaign group Business for Scotland said it “has 2,500 members who run businesses in Scotland, employ people across the country in a range of industries, and all believe that Scottish independence is in the best interests of Scotland and Scottish business.”
More than 100 business leaders added their names to a declaration in favour of independence on Wednesday, following a similar statement signed by around 200 executives in August.
Business for Scotland said the individuals were signing in a personal capacity and that the mix of small, medium and large firms was representative of business in Scotland.
Prominent among the latest signatories are Doug Duguid, founder of energy services company Enermech and William Hall of heating firm Alba Air Energy, while earlier supporters included Sir Brian Souter of Stagecoach, the Perth-based bus and rail group. Stagecoach says it is neutral on independence, while its chief executive, Martin Griffiths, has brushed off concerns that a yes vote would damage one of Scotland’s biggest private businesses.
Senior Scottish financiers also rejected warnings that independence could seriously damage Scotland’s banking sector, insisting that a currency union was the most likely result of a yes vote. Seven business leaders wrote a letter to the FT, including ex-RBS chairman Sir George Mathewson, Sir Donald MacKay, the former chairman of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, and Michelle Thomson, managing director of Business for Scotland.
They flagged up the possibility of an EU referendum and potential exit as far higher risks. They concluded: “Finally, the financial sector in Scotland will always prosper because we have the skills, the talent and the connections that are needed to thrive.”
Mathewson has argued that an independent Scotland would be able to use tax and other policy to expand its financial sector.
Thomson said: “For too long, economic policies have not favoured Scotland nor encouraged the SME sector on which Scotland’s economic health depends.”
The no camp
A fortnight ago, about 130 business leaders, who between them employ 50,000 people in Scotland, wrote an open letter in the Scotsman newspaper saying No Thanks to separation. The group, led by the chief executive of engineering giant Weir, Keith Cochrane, said the “business case” for Scottish independence had not been made.
Kingfisher boss Cheshire does not believe Scotland will be able to keep the pound, which would mean repricing 35,00 products, with the cost being passed on to customers. He called on other business leaders to come out and make similar points, saying “It’s now or never.”
Jean-Bernard Levy, the head of France’s Thales – Britain’s second-largest defence contractor – said a yes vote would force the company to reconsider its facilities on both sides of the border.
BP boss Bob Dudley, said he does not want to see Scotland “drifting away” from the UK, because independence would almost certainly mean higher costs for his business.
HSBC chairman Douglas Flint has warned that uncertainty over Scotland’s currency could prompt capital flight from the country and leave it in a “parlous” financial state.
Weir, one of Scotland’s biggest companies, said independence will “guarantee” higher costs for business but produce few and uncertain benefits, after commissioning a report on the economics.
Standard Life, one of the main pillars of Scotland’s finance industry, has set up English subsidiaries as a part of “contingency” planning that could see it quit Scotland.
Royal Bank of Scotland, Scotland’s biggest bank, has tried not to raise the temperature despite harbouring concerns over the risks to its credit rating and business.
Lloyds Banking Group has warned of a “material impact” on its costs and borrowing, implying a knock-on impact for businesses and customers for the owner of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland.
Alliance Trust, a pensions and savings firm based in Dundee, has been registering companies in England.
Former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King, was accused of scaremongering by the Scottish National party when he warned that independence could mean higher food prices north of the border. Asda and Morrisons have also warned consumers would face higher prices, reflecting the higher transport costs for some remote areas.
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