IF he ever wanted to reinvent himself as a chat show host, Sir Brian Souter would appear to have plenty of the requisite credentials.
The Stagecoach chairman oversaw the bus and rail giant’s annual meeting in Perth yesterday with customary wit and bonhomie. Questions from the floor, ranging from the company’s flagging share price and dividend cut to toilet provision on coaches and the lack of Stagecoach buses in the Fort William area, were deftly defused.
There was even room for his now customary joke about the need to hurry along the question and answer session, lest the soup waiting for hungry shareholders in the foyer of the Perth Concert Hall go cold.
Sir Brian’s jovial demeanour, however, did not completely mask the difficulties faced by the company in recent months as it dealt with the loss of the East Coast rail franchise.
It was largely left to chief executive Martin Griffiths to face the music on this one.
One irate shareholder demanded to know whether there were any more losses “chugging down the track” for the company in relation to its rail operations, and when the response from Mr Griffiths was deemed to have been unsatisfactory, asked the question again.
To be fair to the Stagecoach boss, he did not duck the issue. He conceded that the loss of the franchise had been a low point but pointed out to shareholders that it had been a blip in 20 otherwise profitable years running trains.
Whether or not his response placated his critic was unclear. Perhaps that verdict ultimately depended on how hot the soup was by the time he got his hands on it.
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