Fears over break-up ‘threaten vital property deals’
A STRING of major investment deals in Scotland may only go ahead if there is a No vote in September, according to property chiefs.
The Scottish Daily Mail has learned that firms have inserted clauses that allow them to tear up contracts should the nation become independent.
Thousands of future jobs in the construction industry and markets such as retail and finance could be lost as a result.
Estate agents have also revealed that property deals at the top-end of the residential market are being put on hold until after the referendum.
Jamie Macnab, director at Savills Edinburgh, said one prospective buyer recently withdrew an offer after deciding to wait until September’s result is known. He added that the residential property market was ‘very heavily dependent on a No vote’ and sales of Scottish homes to buyers from London had been ‘suppressed’.
One senior insider involved in commercial property and land sales in Scotland said: ‘There are a lot of offers going in that are subject to a No vote.
‘Conditions of the sale are explicit, allowing firms to renegotiate or simply walk away if there is a Yes vote.
‘Firms want to hedge their bets and they will have a different view of the deal if Scotland becomes independent. It’s happening in both the commercial and residential sector: land deals and investment deals.’
Mr Macnab said he knew of one big investment decision that included such a clause in the missives.
‘Uncertainty is not good for the market,’ he said, pointing to unanswered questions over currency and the mortgage system. Mr Macnab said evidence from estate agents suggested that rich potential buyers from England, mainly London, were delaying investment in Scotland, and sellers north of the Border were also waiting until after the referendum.
Last night, a spokesman for the pro-Union Better Together campaign said: ‘This is yet another intervention from experts confirming the big risks with separation.
‘Whether it’s on the pound or our EU membership, the failure of the Nationalists to give honest answers is causing huge uncertainty.’
The revelation comes just a day after Keith Cochrane, chief executive of engineering giant the Weir Group, warned that a separate Scotland would face a ‘substantial hiatus’ in future investment.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘There has been significant growth in the commercial property market over the past year.
‘Inward investment in Scotland as a whole in recent years is among the highest in the whole of the UK, and people continue to invest in Scotland’s homes, offices and industrial sites, demonstrating rising confidence among businesses.’