Editing Brian Souter (section)

{{Short description|Scottish businessman}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Knight Bachelor|Sir]]
| name               = Brian Souter
| image              = Brian Souter on New Routemaster (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Souter in 2014
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1954|5|5|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], Scotland
| occupation         = Businessman
| title              = Chairman, [[Stagecoach Group]]
| years_active       = 1980–present
| spouse             = Betty Souter
| website            = {{URL|briansouter.com}}
| children           = 4
| relatives          = [[Ann Gloag|Dame Ann Gloag]] (sister)
}}
'''Sir Brian Souter''' (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, [[Ann Gloag]], he founded the [[Stagecoach Group]] of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator [[Megabus (Europe)|Megabus]], the [[train operating company]] [[South West Trains]], his investments company Souter Holdings Ltd, and the Souter Charitable Trust.

Souter has been politically active in Scotland, and supported the [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) financially. In 2000, when the [[Scottish Executive]] proposed to repeal [[Section 28|Section 2A]] of the Local Government Act, which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality", Souter started the [[Keep the Clause campaign]] to oppose their plans, spending £1 million of his own money to organise a private referendum across Scotland. This campaign and other controversial statements have led opponents to accuse him of [[homophobia]].

In 2011, he was [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Knighthood|knighted]] for services to transport and the voluntary sector.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13725892 |title=Brian Souter knighted in Queen's birthday honours |work=BBC News |date=11 June 2011 |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> The honour was criticised by [[Scottish Labour Party]] politicians and by [[gay rights]] campaigners.

In October 2019, Souter announced the donation of 28% of the total shares in Souter Investments to charitable causes, with an estimated value of £109 million. This was described in ''[[The Scotsman]]'' as "what could be the largest charitable donation by a Scot since ... [[Andrew Carnegie]]". This came after Souter's charitable trust had already spent over £98 million supporting "13,000 worthwhile causes" over 13 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/sir-brian-souter-makes-massive-109m-donation-as-charities-experience-perfect-storm-1-5030766|title=Sir Brian Souter makes massive £109m donation as charities experience 'perfect storm'|date=22 October 2019|work=The Scotsman}}</ref>

According to the ''[[Sunday Times Rich List]]'' in 2020, Souter and his sister [[Ann Gloag]] are worth £730 million, a decrease of £145 million from the previous year.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Times|first=The Sunday|title=Rich List 2020: profiles 101-199=, featuring Sir Paul McCartney and Joanne Rowling|newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/rich-list-2020-profiles-101-199-featuring-paul-mccartney-and-jk-rowling-dvd9zt5p0|access-date=2020-09-02|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>