Sir Brian Souter was born on 5 May 1954 and is a Scottish businessman.
17 Facts About Brian Souter
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Brian Souter founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Trains, his investments company Souter Holdings Ltd, and the Souter Charitable Trust.
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Brian Souter's father was a bus driver and as a child Brian often travelled on bus routes with his father.
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Brian Souter further expanded with the purchase of Citybus, an operator of buses and ferries in Hong Kong, and Coach USA, the largest bus and coach operator in the US and Canada.
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Brian Souter became Chief Executive, and later sold off much of Coach USA.
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Shortly after Brian Souter floated Stagecoach on the London Stock Exchange, he turned his attention to British railways.
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In 2003, Brian Souter added the bus and coach operator Megabus to the group.
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Brian Souter has more than 200 private investments, which are managed by his company, Brian Souter Investments.
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Brian Souter was a prominent leader of the Keep the Clause campaign, which sought to prevent its abolition.
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Brian Souter is fighting this battle because he is a father and committed Christian.
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Brian Souter pointed out that the number of people who voted to keep the clause exceeded the number of votes cast for any single political party in Scotland at any election over the preceding ten years, although Scottish voters usually choose from four main parties, not two options.
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Many groups hostile to Brian Souter's stance had called for a public boycott of the poll, and accordingly claimed that as only a minority voted this was a defeat for Brian Souter and his supporters.
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Brian Souter was a major financial supporter of the Scottish National Party.
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In 1989 Brian Souter received an award from the Scottish Business Achievement Award Trust.
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Brian Souter was knighted in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to transport and the voluntary sector.
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Brian Souter's knighthood was criticised by gay rights campaigners, who felt that the honour was insulting to the gay community and was effectively rewarding homophobia, given Brian Souter's past campaigning.
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Brian Souter is a member of the Church of the Nazarene, and attends Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Perth,.