The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
£80m profits for Sir Brian Souter’s family fund
ASSETS: Jump in value of Stagecoach chairman’s private investment vehicle
The value of Stagecoach co-founder Sir Brian Souter’s family investment vehicle increased by almost £80 million last year.
Souter Investments Limited holds a substantial part of the Souter family’s investment portfolio, including a 15% shareholding in Perth-based Stagecoach, which he co-founded.
Newly filed annual accounts for the year ending March 31 show the company’s net assets increased from £338 million in 2018 to £416.8m at the year end – a rise of £78.8m.
Accounting for valuation changes, investment income and costs, the company made a profit of £80.3m last year, compared to a £24.7m loss in 2018.
Stagecoach remains a core strategic investment for the company, representing just over a third of the net assets.
In the company’s accounts Mr Souter said: “As the largest single investment, the directors monitor the performance of the group’s investment in Stagecoach on a regular basis.
“As at March 31 the 86 million shares in Stagecoach were valued at £113m, representing an increase of £19m in the year.
“This obviously had a positive impact on the group’s performance, which recorded a profit of £80m for the year.”
The company holds stakes in around 25 firms, with a typical investment of between £5m and £15m.
In October Mr Souter announced the sale of Finnish transport company Onnibus, which had received funding from Souter Investments in 2012.
In November the business acquired pet supplies firms Pet Product SRL in Romania and Slovenian-based MIMAJA, which trades as Mr Pet.
It also sold stakes in New Zealand transport group Inmotion and asset administration firm Mobius Life during the year.
Souter Investments also had a substantial stake in Alexander Dennis – the world’s largest producer of double decker buses – which was sold to a Canadian firm for £320m in May.
“The generation of new opportunities was again strong during the year and we continue to be rigorous in our selection of investments,” Mr Souter added.
“We continue to diversify our portfolio and retain a healthy appetite for unlisted investments.
“The results for the year were an improvement on the prior year and demonstrate the significant value that has been added to the portfolio by our employees and managers of our investee companies during the course of the year.
“Our valuations continue to be exceeded on realisations of our unquoted portfolio and I would note the group received cash proceeds of £121m from the sale of Alexander Dennis Limited, our largest unquoted investment.”