Souter in bid to boost stock

STAGECOACH founder Brian Souter has spent several millions of pounds on company shares in a bid to revive the price of its stock.

The Scottish firm's chief executive has spent almost £3 million boosting his stake, while non-executive director Sir George Mathewson has also bought thousands of shares.

Mr Souter's stake in the company has risen to 106.8 million shares after spending an average of 138.96p on 2.085m shares.

Sir George Mathewson, who is tipped to be a future Stagecoach chairman, countered criticism about his previous lack of a stake in the firm by spending £49,903 on 35,800 shares yesterday.

The company's share price has dropped 22 per cent in two days because of fears about the impact of a recession on its rail business.