Chief reflects on question of Weir leaving

THE chief executive of one of Scotland’s biggest companies, Weir Group, says they would keep their head office north of the border only if there was certainty over currency, taxation and EU membership.

In a speech to business people and accountants, Keith Cochrane, head of the FTSE100-listed company, said he personally would vote No.

He said: “The question I am most often asked at the moment is will the Weir Group leave Scotland in the event of a Yes vote?

“My reply is always the same, I can’t answer that question without knowing the answer to simple questions like, ‘what will the currency arrangements be?’, ‘what will the tax regime look like?’, ‘will Scotland remain a member of the EU?’.”

In April, an 80-page document, compiled by Oxford Economics for the engineering giant, said higher taxes for Scottish firms would be likely if there were a Yes vote.

Mr Cochrane added: “Firstly, Weir is a proudly Scottish company but the vast majority of our business is conducted overseas. In fact, 98 per cent of our revenues are now generated outside Scotland. We no longer have manufacturing facilities in Scotland and our three Scottish service centres will remain here as long as there are customers to serve. So from an operational perspective, any negative impacts arising from a Yes vote would be minimal.

“So that leaves our head office of around 70 people which each year contributes tens of millions of pounds to the local economy including fees for audit, due diligence and tax advice, by virtue of being based here in Glasgow.”