British businesses were today counting the cost of Sunday's devastating blaze at the Buncefield oil depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, with at least three companies directly affected preparing to call on their insurance policies.

Although fuel worth an estimated £200 million is thought to have been destroyed in the depot fire, the long-term effect on the price of oil and petrol is likely to be negligible. Buncefield is one of 43 fuel storage depots in the UK

However, as well as the dozens of local businesses that were facing up to the carnage this morning, several leading quoted companies had head offices or distribution centres that in some cases were "badly damaged" by the fire.

Scottish & Newcastle, Britain's biggest brewer, said the fire - which has not resulted in any fatalities - caused "significant" damage to the main distribution centre for its subsidiary Waverly TBS, the wines and spirits wholesaler.

As it acknowledged the "inevitable disruption" this would cause, it said it had not been able to gain access to the Buncefield site but had established that none of its staff had been injured.

"We believe that WTBS will have incurred significant asset losses but we believe that all asset and subsequent trading losses will be fully recovered from our insurers," Scottish & Newcastle said.

"Our principal concern is to support our customers at this critical time. Already, enormous efforts have been made to minimise the inevitable disruption and we are extremely grateful to all our staff and suppliers for their support thus far."

Earlier, DSG International, the retailer formerly known as Dixons, said it had shut its central administrative offices that were adjacent to the refinery - on the instructions of the authorities. But it said all of its stores and business systems were operational and trading was not disrupted.

Northgate Information Solutions, the specialist human resources and payroll software firm, said its head office building was "seriously damaged" by the Buncefield explosion.

"The fabric of the building and the fixtures and equipment inside have been badly damaged. The back-up systems that were in place have also been rendered inoperable. Northgate's ability to service its customers has therefore been temporarily affected," it said.

Northgate said it had initiated its "well developed and previously rehearsed" continuity plan that means it can use remote data centres and offices in other parts of the country to restore its services.

The software firm said its insurance covered the building, its contents and any business interruption and so the long-term impact is "unlikely to be material".

Asos, the internet fashion retailer whose shares are favoured by day-traders and retail investors, said its Hemel Hempstead warehouse was damaged by the explosions although it was still assessing the impact on the company and its customers.

Although Asos said it was fully insured against stock loss and business interruption, it later asked for its shares to be suspended on the London Stock Exchange pending a fuller assessment of the damage.

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