INDEPENDENCE "will create a positive outcome for all companies in Scotland", according to bus tycoon Sir Brian Souter.

The SNP donor issued a personal statement following interpretations of a risk management warning issued by his company, Stagecoach Group, on the independence referendum.

Stagecoach advised investors that changes to the regulatory environment or the availability of public funding as a result of the ref-erendum, or from the subsequent UK General Election, "could affect the group's prospects" in its preliminary results yesterday.

Better Together said Stagecoach drove "a coach and horses through the nationalists' case for separation".

But Sir Brian said it was an advisory of the potential for political change to impact the business, both from the referendum and the 2015 General Election. He added: "I personally hold the view independence will create a positive outcome for all companies in Scotland."