Brian Souter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Brian Souter
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Souter in 2014
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| Born | 5 May 1954 Perth, Scotland
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| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Title | Chairman, Stagecoach Group |
| Spouse(s) | Betty Souter |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Dame Ann Gloag (sister) |
Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. He is well-known for starting the Stagecoach Group, a large company that runs buses and trains. He began this company with his sister, Dame Ann Gloag. Brian Souter also founded other transport services like Megabus and the train operating company South West Trains. He also manages his own investment company, Souter Holdings Ltd, and a charity called the Souter Charitable Trust.
In 2000, when the Scottish government wanted to change a law about how local councils could talk about different family types, Souter started a campaign called Keep the Clause campaign. He spent a lot of his own money to get people's opinions on the law.
In 2011, he was made a knight for his work in transport and charity. Some politicians and groups supporting gay rights did not agree with this honour.
In 2019, Souter gave a large part of his company shares, worth about £109 million, to charity. This was one of the biggest donations ever made by a Scottish person. His charity had already given over £98 million to many good causes in 13 years.
Contents
About Brian Souter
Early Life and Learning
Brian Souter was born in Perth, a city in Scotland. His father was a bus driver. As a child, Brian often rode on bus routes with his dad.
At school, he became very interested in economics and accounting. He later said that choosing these subjects was one of the best decisions he ever made.
After school, he studied at Dundee Institute of Technology. He wanted to become a commerce teacher. Later, he went to Strathclyde University in Glasgow. He earned a diploma in Accountancy and Economics there. After graduating, Souter became a Chartered Accountant. He worked at a company called Arthur Andersen & Co.
Starting Stagecoach
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In 1980, Brian Souter, his sister Ann Gloag, and his brother-in-law Robin Gloag started the Stagecoach Group. They used money their father received when he lost his job. They began by running buses from Dundee to London.
When bus services in Britain became less regulated, Stagecoach grew quickly. They bought many other bus companies across the UK. These included companies in places like Cumberland, Hampshire, and London. In 1993, Stagecoach was worth £134 million. It was then listed on the London Stock Exchange to help it grow even more.
By the mid-1990s, Stagecoach expanded to Australia and New Zealand. The company also bought Citybus in Hong Kong, which ran buses and ferries. They also bought Coach USA in America.
Stagecoach was sometimes criticized for its business methods. In one case, they offered free buses to try and stop a rival company. This was called "predatory" and "against the public interest" by a government commission.
In 2009, Souter received a large bonus of £1.6 million. He felt it was not right to keep all of it during that economic time. So, he gave £900,000 to his own charity. Most of the rest went to the staff pension fund.
In 2012, it was announced that Souter would become chairman of Stagecoach Group. He stepped down from this role at the end of 2019. However, he still remains on the board as a non-executive director.
Running Train Services
After Stagecoach was listed on the stock exchange, Brian Souter looked at British railways. Stagecoach won bids to run the South West Trains service starting in 1996. They also ran the Island Line Trains later that year. They continued to run these services until 2017.
In 1998, Stagecoach bought a share in Virgin Rail Group. This group operated the CrossCountry and West Coast train services. Stagecoach also started running the East Midlands Trains service in 2007. From 2015 to 2018, Stagecoach also operated the InterCity East Coast service.
Megabus Services
In 2003, Souter added the bus and coach operator Megabus to the group. Megabus offered cheap travel across the UK and Europe. Its slogan was "Low Cost Inter City Travel Serving Europe." By 2012, it operated in 31 cities in the UK.
In 2013, Souter announced a new Megabus overnight sleeper service. This service ran from Scotland to London. The special coaches cost £5 million to build. They had 53 seats that could turn into 42 bunk beds. Passengers even got a onesie to sleep in! This overnight service stopped in 2017 because it was losing money. The coaches are now used for daytime trips.
Souter Investments
Brian Souter has more than 200 private investments. These are managed by his company, Souter Investments. The company invests in many different types of businesses. It focuses on private equity and has over 25 direct investments. The value of these investments has grown steadily over 12 years.
Highland Global Transport
In 2012, Souter and his sister Ann Gloag created Highland Global Transport. This company owns many transport-related investments. These include:
- Stagecoach Group (26% ownership)
- Istanbul Deniz Otobusleri, a ferry company in Turkey
- PolskiBus, a coach service in Poland (sold in 2017)
- Alexander Dennis, a company that makes buses and coaches
- Argent Energy, a company that makes biodiesel
- Sunseeker, a company that makes luxury motor yachts
- OnniBus (75%), a coach operator in Finland (sold in 2018)
- SuperBus.com, a coach operator in the Baltic states
InMotion Group
Highland Global Transport also bought and started several companies in New Zealand. In 2015, these were grouped together as the InMotion Group. This group had 340 buses and coaches and 17 ferries.
Some of these companies included:
- Mana Coach Services, a bus operator in Wellington
- Howick & Eastern Buses, a bus operator in Auckland
- Fullers Group (Fullers360), which runs ferry services in Auckland Harbour
- ManaBus, an inter-city coach operator
- Naked Bus, another inter-city coach operator
ManaBus and Naked Bus stopped operating in 2018. Mana Coach Services and Howick & Eastern Buses were sold in 2019. This means Fullers Group (Fullers360) is now Souter's only transport company in New Zealand.
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
In April 2015, Souter was appointed vice president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. He had become a Chartered Accountant in 1984. In May 2017, he was appointed as the president of the organization.
Public Activities
Section 28 Campaign
In 2000, the Scottish government wanted to remove a law called Section 28 (also known as clause 2A). This law stopped local councils from "intentionally promoting homosexuality." Brian Souter was a key leader in the Keep the Clause campaign. This campaign wanted to keep the law. Souter spent £1 million of his own money to organize a special postal vote across Scotland. He said he was doing this as a father and a Christian.
About 3.9 million voting papers were sent out. Around 31.8% of people voted. Of those who voted, 86.8% wanted to keep the law, and 13.2% wanted to remove it.
Souter said that more people voted to keep the law than voted for any single political party in Scotland in the previous ten years. However, many groups against Souter's view asked people not to vote. The Scottish government also said that Souter's campaign had given people "misinformation." The campaign was not successful, and the law was removed.
Donations to Political Parties
Brian Souter has given a lot of money to the Scottish National Party (SNP). In March 2007, he donated £500,000. He said he wanted to balance the funding in Scottish politics. He felt that those who supported Scotland staying in the UK had more money.
In February 2011, Souter promised to give more money to the SNP. He said he would match every pound they raised, up to £500,000. He believed the SNP deserved another term in power. The SNP won the election, and Alex Salmond became First Minister again.
In 2014, the BBC reported that Souter had given £1 million to the campaign for Scottish independence. After Nicola Sturgeon became SNP leader in November 2014, Souter did not give any more money to the SNP. However, in December 2014, he gave £3,500 to a local branch of the Liberal Democrats.
In 2023, Souter helped the Scottish government organize a dinner for businesses. A government minister, Patrick Harvie, said that his party and the government did not share Brian Souter's values.
Charitable Work
In 1992, Brian Souter and his wife started the Souter Charitable Trust. This charity helps humanitarian projects in the UK and other countries. It especially supports projects with a Christian focus. These projects include preventing malaria and providing daily meals to school children in Africa. The Trust has given over £98 million to 13,000 good causes.
Some of the groups that receive money from the trust every year include Tearfund and Oasis Trust.
In April 2019, Souter's company, Stagecoach Southeast, was announced as a sponsor for the Turner Prize. This is an award for visual artists. However, the sponsorship ended a few days later after some public criticism of Souter's involvement.
Awards and Honours
Brian Souter has received many awards and honours:
- In 1997, he received an honorary degree from Strathclyde University.
- In 1998, he won the Scottish Entrepreneur Award.
- In 1999, he received another honorary degree, this time from Abertay University.
- In 2004, he was named Businessman of the Year at the Insider Elite Awards.
- In 2008, he received a Special Recognition Award for his work in the bus industry.
- In 2010, he was given a Special Career Service Award at a public transport exhibition in Paris.
- In October 2010, he was named the Ernst & Young UK Master Entrepreneur of the Year.
- In 2011, he received an outstanding achievement award at the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce Business Star Awards.
- In 2012, he was added to the British Travel and Hospitality Industry Hall of Fame. He was the first public transport entrepreneur to receive this honour.
Knighthood
Souter was made a knight in 2011 for his services to transport and charity. This decision caused some debate. A Scottish Labour politician, Cathy Jamieson, suggested there might be a link between the knighthood and the large donations Souter made to the Scottish National Party.
Alex Salmond, who was the First Minister at the time, denied any wrongdoing. An independent investigation was carried out. The report found that Salmond had not done anything wrong and cleared him of any breach.
Personal Life
Brian Souter lives in Perth, Scotland, with his wife and four children. He is a member of the Church of the Nazarene. He attends Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Perth.
Images for kids
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Souter in 2014
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A Stagecoach Manchester bus
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A South West Trains train
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A PolskiBus coach
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A ManaBus double-decker bus
