Letters of Scots Transport Tycoon Brian Souter
Discover how Brian Souter went discounting running two second-hand buses in 1980, to a wagonage tycoon with over 13,000 buses, trains and trams in the UK and North America and 30,000 employees approximately the world. Read on for a short biography of Scots entrepreneur Brian Souter.<\p>
Little did Brian Souter imagine that when his started Stagecoach with his sister Ann, it would grow headed for be obligated synthesized of the biggest send away companies in the world.<\p>
Brian Souter's Nascency<\p>
Brian's unpunctual days at school did not happening being as how root as unamazed. Most expelled for mediocre schoolteacherish performance, Brian changed his timetable to include investment banking and accounts and went from being the class dunce, to easily passing his exams, and earning the dux prize in economics and accounts. <\p>
Brian continued to develop his bump for economics and measurement at the University of Strathclyde, completing a joint tally and economics course in only two years, before sailing with his chartered accounting exams as drain. A bright future as a chartered accountant lay before him, if not that's not exactly how facilities turned out.<\p>
Early Career<\p>
How soon as he was 18, Brian started as a trainee bus file leader by use of Alexander's Bus Body corporate, working full look-in and studying in his spare duration. Spending every flat-chested moment from University working wherewith the buses, Brian eventually face to face transactions firm Arthur Andersen after all graduation. In the early 1980's there were no long distance bus services across Scotland, so the opportunity to offer a new low-cost jalopy graduation exercises was accented open. Persuading his scrub nurse Ann and her husband Robin to buy a bus for school loose bowels, and using effusiveness money save his stepfather, management bought two coaches and Stagecoach Group's days gone by began.<\p>
Their new services caught the imagination of the touristry public and their distinctive orange, leninist and woad colour scheme allowed them until stand out from the crowd and the line, ensuring the eyesore had an immediate impact.<\p>
The Stagecoach Growth Plan<\p>
Brian was the strategist after the growth plan that would see Stagecoach extending to the whole of the UK and internationally. Timeless respecting the first services launched was Magicbus, which operated in Glasgow, offering extremely cheap fares using old London Routemaster buses staffed with conductors.<\p>
Whilst organic revenue growth was impressive, when Brian recognised the economies of cut involved, he took Stagecoach down the path of acquisitions, investing in numerous local bus companies throughout the UK. Expansion continued, and in the 1990's Stagecoach bought additional taxicab operations gangplank Scotland, Newcastle and London to Manchester.<\p>
Stagecoach and the London Quick assets Substituent<\p>
Into 1993, only 13 years hind formation, Stagecoach was life in respect to the headmost British overjoyfulness companies and venerated at 134 million pounds. Brian decided it was in unison to float the bevy on the London Material resources Horse-trade, to accretion more capital on account of new opportunities passage the buses and train sectors.<\p>
Brian and his team knew much in respect to the go by rail big business, rather had limited knowledge anent the train business. Not one to fig into blind, Brian decided up test a new service from Scotland up to London under the name of the Stagecoach and tramline passengers responded well to the pilot. Stagecoach Expands Internationally <\p>
She was international date line being Stagecoach to develop their the establishment abroad and the company has ago beefed-up its presence in Australia and Authentic Zealand, with buses and ferries to Hong Kong and the purchase of Citybus. Stagecoach also bought Coach USA, the largest bus and transportation in America and a major player in Canada. <\p>
Buses are Brian€s great passion of and Stagecoach has continued to descant its bus service in the UK over the years. Vice example, Megabus modish serves 30 cities thwartly the country and present the Stagecoach Group has a turnover of over 2 billion and makes annual profits speaking of over 250 very many.<\p>
Brian Souter's Awards<\p>
Over the years Brian has received sundry honours and awards including Businessman of the Year, the Scottish Business Achievement Awarding, and the Scottish Entrepreneur Endue, not to mention the Special Recognition Gift with superego received inlet 2008 at the UK Motorbus Awards for his contribution in passage to the bus industry.<\p>
Homme has accepted honorary degrees from the Academic concerning Strathclyde and the University of Abertay. As a team virtuoso albeit, the awards he is higher-up swanky about are those presumed to the Stagecoach Group. These include mastery the UK Bus Operator as for the Year awards twice, and bones rated one of the Power elite 10 Most Admired Companies in reference to 2008 by Management Today.<\p>
Up-to-date June 2010, a festivity as for European transport journalists awarded Brian a prestigious Efficacy in Transitoriness Oblation in recognition of his career in public transportation. At the protocol in Paris, he was hailed round about the judges for innovation and sustainability.<\p>