Editing Brian Souter (section)

===Stagecoach===

[[File:Stagecoach in Manchester bus 19067 (MX56 FSY), 25 July 2008.jpg|thumb|[[Stagecoach Manchester]] bus]]

Using his father's [[Redundancy (law)|redundancy]] money, with his sister [[Ann Gloag]] and his brother-in-law [[Robin Gloag]] he established the [[Stagecoach Group]] in 1980, running buses from [[Dundee]] to London.<ref name="BBC21January2000">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/612409.stm |title=Brian Souter: Stagecoach's straightman |work=BBC News |date=21 January 2000 |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> Following the [[Bus deregulation in Great Britain|deregulation of bus services in Great Britain]], expansion continued, and in the late 1980s Stagecoach acquired [[National Bus Company (UK)|National Bus Company]] subsidiaries in Cumberland and [[Stagecoach South|Hampshire]], and the East Midlands, [[Ribble Motor Services|Ribble]], [[Southdown Motor Services|Southdown]] and [[United Counties Omnibus|United Counties]] companies. Stagecoach also bought bus operations in Scotland, [[Stagecoach North East|Newcastle]] and [[Stagecoach London|London]], with [[Stagecoach Manchester|Manchester]] being added a few years later.<ref name=magicbus>{{cite web|url=http://www.briansouter.com/biography/uk-bus-deregulation.aspx |title=Bus History &#124; Magicbus &#124; National Bus |publisher=Brian Souter |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> In 1993, Stagecoach was valued at £134 million and was floated on the [[London Stock Exchange]] to access capital for new opportunities for buses and trains overseas.

By the mid-1990s, Stagecoach developed its interests in Australia and [[NZ Bus|New Zealand]]. The company further expanded with the purchase of [[Citybus (Hong Kong)|Citybus]], an operator of buses and ferries in Hong Kong, and [[Coach USA]].<ref name="Acquisition">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/stagecoach-pays-pounds-121bn-for-largest-us-bus-operator-1100307.html|title=Stagecoach pays pounds 1.21bn for largest US bus operator|date=15 June 1999|access-date=28 October 2013|work=[[The Independent]]|location=London}}</ref>

Stagecoach then bought a number of the new small bus companies and ran free or low-fare buses to put local rivals out of business.<ref name="BBC21January2000"/> In [[Darlington]], Stagecoach subsidiary [[Busways Travel Services|Busways]] offered bounties to recruit drivers from the existing bus service and offered free buses to deter the rival preferred bidder from taking over that service. This practice was deemed as "predatory, deplorable and against the public interest" according to the [[Monopolies and Mergers Commission]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Glenda Cooper |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stagecoach-set-record-of-shame-ful-record-of-shame-1527193.html |title=Stagecoach set record of shame ful record of shame - Home News - UK |newspaper=The Independent |date=24 December 1995 |access-date=5 February 2012 |location=London}}</ref><ref name=MMC1995>{{cite web |url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1995/371bus.htm |title=The supply of bus services in the north-east of England |publisher=Competition Commission |access-date=5 February 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204082405/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1995/371bus.htm |archive-date=4 February 2012  }}</ref>

In 2009, Souter received a £1.6 million bonus. Stating "it was felt that in the present economic climate it would not be right for any individual to pocket a bonus package of £1.6million", he donated £900,000 to his own charity, the Souter Charitable Trust, which assists humanitarian projects in the UK and overseas. Most of the remainder was given to the staff pension fund.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/business-news/2009/07/10/stagecoach-bos-gives-his-1-6m-bonus-to-staff-and-charity-86908-21508938/ |title=Stagecoach boss gives his £1.6m bonus to staff and charity |newspaper=The Daily Record |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.faithincommunityscotland.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=329&Itemid=38 |title=Faith in Community Scotland |publisher=Faith in Community Scotland |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref>

In August 2012, it was announced that Souter would become chairman of Stagecoach Group on 1 May 2013, finance director Martin Griffiths replacing Souter as CEO.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/stagecoach-brief-idUSWLA216320120822/ |title=Stagecoach CEO Brian Souter to become chairman next year |publisher=Reuters.com |date=22 August 2012 |access-date=22 August 2012 |archive-date=30 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030025401/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/22/stagecoach-brief-idUSWLA216320120822 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was announced in December 2019 that Souter would step down from his role as chairman at the end of the year, but remain on the board as a non-executive director.<ref>{{cite news|last=Topham |first=Gwyn |date=2019-12-11|title=Stagecoach chairman Sir Brian Souter to step down|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/11/sir-brian-souter-stagecoach-chairman-to-step-down|access-date=2020-09-22|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>