London - Insurance and pensions heavyweight Standard Life became the first major company to warn it could move parts of its business out of Scotland if Scots split from the United Kingdom, dealing a blow to the independence movement.
The company, which has been based in Scotland for 189 years, announced on Thursday that it had a contingency plan to partly move from Scotland, potentially putting 5 000 jobs at risk.
Chief executive David Nish said it had started setting up registered companies in England "as a precautionary measure" into which it could transfer operations if Scots voted on September 18 to end a 307-year union with England.
Nish said the steps were necessary due to uncertainty over how an independent Scotland would work, including what currency it would use and if it would achieve its goal of European Union membership.
A war over currency has ignited the independence debate in recent weeks, with Scottish leader Alex Salmond wanting to share the pound in a currency union but the rest of the British parties rejecting this proposal.
Nish stressed Standard Life was maintaining a position of "strict political neutrality".
"We have started work to establish additional registered companies to operate outside Scotland into which we could transfer parts of our operations if it was necessary to do so," Nish told reporters on a conference call on Thursday.
"This is a precautionary measure to ensure continuity of our business' competitive position and to protect the interests of our stakeholders."
Scotland is home to the second largest financial services industry in the United Kingdom, employing about 85 000 peoople directly and another 70 000 in support companies.
Standard Life, with 5 000 staff in Scotland, currently manages more than £244bn of assets for its clients, around 90 percent of whom are based outside Scotland.
So far few businesses have publicly stated their plans for what they would do if Scotland did become independent as the likelihood of a "Yes" vote had seemed remote.
But with the nationalists starting to gain ground in the polls, with about 37% support compared to 47% opposition to independence, increasing numbers of business leaders have started to point out possible risks.
A poll by executive search firm Korn Ferry released this week found 65% of chairperson of 32 FTSE 100 companies said it would be bad for business if Scotland became independent.
Ronnie Ludwig, a senior tax adviser in Edinburgh for financial advisory firm Saffery Champness, said Standard Life taking a public stand about a possible move to England was significant and could prompt others to follow suit.
"The lack of certainty over the pound, EU membership and the tax regime, be it corporate or personal, is driving a culture of, at worst, fear and some are starting to run for cover," Ludwig told Reuters.
"Companies want the familiar so it makes sense for them to head to England...and if Standard Life are doing this then I am sure other life companies and banks are thinking the same."
A spokesperson for Salmond's office was not immediately available for comment on the Standard Life statement.
Salmond has argued that the British parties are bluffing and if there was a vote for independence in September they would be willing to enter negotiations as a shared currency was important for both sides of the border due to large amounts of trade.