Souter to step down as CEO of Stagecoach

Sir Brian Souter, no stranger to controversy in Scottish politics, has taken on corporate governance custodians by announcing he is stepping from chief executive to chairman at Stagecoach, the bus and train operator he founded more than 30 years ago and in which his family holds a 25 per cent stake.

"We will take some convincing that this is a good move," a spokesman for shareholder advisory group Pirc said. "The idea within the corporate governance code is to prevent backseat driving by the former chief executive when they move to chairman. The new chief executive must be able to pursue their own strategy."

Sir Brian, 58, will take over from Sir George Mathewson, 72, as chairman next May. He will be replaced by the current finance director, Martin Griffiths.