Business 'relief' over Scotland's rejection of independence

Businesses have spoken of 'relief' over Scotland's rejection of independence, but said the "No" vote is just the beginning of a period of change.

However, banking giant RBS said it would no longer be shifting its head office to London.

The bank said it would be "business as usual for all our customers across the UK".

Pro-independence businesses were "disappointed" with the referendum outcome.

No move south?

Financial services companies including RBS, Lloyds, TSB, Standard Life, Clydesdale, and Tesco Bank had indicated that they would move headquarters or parts of the business south if Scotland had voted "Yes".

Standard Life confirmed that it would not be moving any operations to England.

"They've [the plans have] been shelved for now. We've no plans to move any of our operations," a Standard Life spokesman said.

The Bank of England, which had contingency plans in the event of a "Yes" vote for independence, declined to comment.

Lloyds said that it "remains committed to having a significant presence in Scotland."

However, the BBC understands that Lloyds has not ruled out a change to its structure due to factors including uncertainty over the impact of further devolution.

Business 'relief'

Business lobbying groups said that firms were "relieved" over the outcome of the vote.

The CBI said "business has always believed that the Union is best for creating jobs".

"This is a momentous day for our United Kingdom and this result will be greeted by a collective sigh of relief across the business community," said John Cridland, CBI director general.

However, the group warned that devolution should not "undermine the strength of the single internal market".

Pro-independence group Business for Scotland said that it was "disappointed that the opportunity to improve Scotland through independence has been lost."

"Huge credit due to the Scottish people who have, by and large, conducted the biggest political debate there is with good grace, good manners and some sparkling wit," said Business for Scotland chairman Tony Banks.

"Like others who campaigned for a Yes vote, I'll continue campaigning for a better Scotland. We won't have all the tools that we would have had after a Yes vote but we'll all do what we can to improve things as much as possible."