a provider of bus rail and tram transport in the world and is an operator of bus and tour services in the dubai type public company traded as lse sgc grey market sagkf founded 1980 headquarters perth scotland united kingdom area served united kingdom united states canada key people sir brian souter chairman martin griffiths chief executive luke phelps target man products local and express bus service intercity bus service franchise rail and tram service sightseeing services revenue 3 204.4 million april 2015 1 operating income 227.1 million april 2015 2 net income 139.5 million april 2015 1 number of employees 36 809 april 2015 1 website www.stagecoach.com stagecoach group plc lse sgc is an international transport group operating buses trains trams and express coaches . the group was founded in 1980 by current chairman brian souter 3 his sister ann gloag and her former husband robin . the group is based in perth scotland and has operations in the united kingdom and north america . with 16 % of the bus market and 25 % of the rail market including a 49 % stake in virgin rail group and light rail services in sheffield the company is the second largest transport group in the united kingdom close behind firstgroup . stagecoach operates around 8 100 vehicles and covers over 90 major towns and cities in the united kingdom carrying around 2.5 million passengers daily . stagecoach uk bus employs 18 000 people . in north america stagecoach owns the coach usa and coach canada brands . operations in australia hong kong kenya malawi new zealand portugal and sweden have been sold . the company is listed on the london stock exchange where it is a constituent of the ftse 250 index . contents 1 history 2 operations 2.1 key people 2.2 structure 3 uk operating companies 3.1 bus division 3.1.1 brands 3.2 rail division 3.3 light rail division 4 north american operating companies 4.1 coach division 5 former operations 5.1 stagecoach rail 5.2 virgin crosscountry 5.3 manchester metrolink 5.4 australia 5.5 hong kong 5.6 kenya 5.7 new zealand 5.8 portugal 5.9 nordic countries 6 no frills brands 6.1 magic bus 6.2 megabus 6.3 megatrain 7 scottish citylink 8 controversy 8.1 competitive strategy 8.2 controversial chairman 8.3 tardy buses 9 fleet numbers 10 guided busway 11 references 12 further reading 13 external links history edit stagecoach southdown alexander dash bodied dennis dart in the previous livery stagecoach in south wales plaxton expressliner bodied volvo b10m in july 2008 manchester metrolink t 68 tram at whitefield metrolink station in may 2008 stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the british express coach market in the early 1980s though its roots can be traced back to 1976 when ann gloag and her husband robin set up a small motor caravan and minibus hire business called gloagtrotter . ann s accountant brother brian souter joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire . robin gloag subsequently sold his shareholding in the business and ceased any involvement in 1982 with the collapse of his marriage to ann . the transport act 1980 which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by the traffic commissioner brought new opportunities for the perth based company and services were launched from dundee to london using second hand neoplan coaches . for a while they offered a very personal service with brian souter doing the driving and ann gloag making up sandwiches and snacks for the passengers . successfully competing against the then state owned national express and scottish citylink the company grew significantly between 1981 and 1985 when stagecoach entered local bus operation with the acquisition of mclennan of spittalfield near perth . its early success allowed stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups . several firms were purchased from the national bus company scottish bus group london buses and various city councils . the company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing ex nbc and sbg bus companies that had been purchased by management and employees when privatised . stagecoach left the long distance express coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to national express . during the privatisation of british rail porterbrook was formed as one of three rolling stock companies owning around a third of passenger railway locomotives multiple units and coaching stock running on network rail s system which is leased to various train operators . it was sold to a management buyout before being purchased by stagecoach in august 1996 . 4 5 in april 2000 stagecoach sold porterbrook to abbey national for 773 million . 6 in 1997 stagecoach won the franchise to operate the sheffield supertram system from the south yorkshire passenger transport executive who own the system . stagecoach bought the remaining 27 years of a 30 year franchise which expires in 2024 and run the operation under the stagecoach supertram brand having responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the tram system . when stagecoach took over the system it was struggling both financially and in terms of attracting passengers but it is now an extremely popular and successful operation . 7 stagecoach took another turn in 1998 when it purchased scotland s prestwick airport for 41 million . by the summer of 1999 the company was rumoured to have been offered some 80 million for prestwick . they sold the airport in january 2001 to concentrate on surface transport . 8 on 21 november 2005 stagecoach announced the sale of its new zealand operations to infratil . 9 on 14 december 2005 stagecoach purchased barnsley based traction group yorkshire traction for 26m and also assume traction s 11m debt . traction operated 840 buses in south and west yorkshire yorkshire traction barnsley & district yorkshire terrier lincolnshire roadcar and angus strathtay scottish . traction was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the uk . 10 following the sale of its london bus operations to macquarie bank in 2006 stagecoach uk bus concentrated on the bus market outside the uk capital focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options . 11 in september 2005 following competition with its megabus coach operation stagecoach launched a joint venture with scottish citylink coaches . after a competition enquiry in october 2006 stagecoach was instructed to sell some of the scottish coach services . 12 stagecoach are also active in the rail industry currently operating the south west trains franchise and having a 49 % stake in virgin rail group . in 2007 the group won the right to take over the part of the old central trains franchise and the midland mainline franchise creating the new east midlands trains operation . 13 in july 2007 stagecoach commenced operating the manchester metrolink tram network . 14 in january 2009 stagecoach bought preston bus a former rival in the lancashire area . 15 in november 2009 the competition commission ordered stagecoach to sell preston bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area . 16 in october 2010 stagecoach expanded further by re acquiring east london and selkent stagecoach s former london bus operations . 17 in august 2011 stagecoach sold its manchester metrolink concession to ratp group half way through its ten year contract to operate the network . 18 in december 2013 stagecoach bought king s lynn based norfolk green . 19 in march 2015 virgin trains east coast in which stagecoach holds a 90 % shareholding commenced operating the intercity east coast franchise . 20 21 operations edit key people edit stagecoach group plc is listed on the london stock exchange though company chairman brian souter and his sister ann gloag are the largest shareholders with a combined 25.9 % shareholding at april 2013 . 22 ms gloag no longer has an executive role in the company . souter and gloag s 46.8 % shareholding in bus manufacturer alexander dennis or souter s previously owned stake in scotairways are not related to the stagecoach group . structure edit group structure at september 2011 23 stagecoach group uk bus north america national transport tokens rail operations east scotland west scotland north east south lancashire & merseyside virgin rail group east midlands trains manchester east midlands oxfordshire cumbria & north lancashire virgin trains south west trains cambridge & peterborough wales west warwickshire sheffield supertram south east kent south west east south yorkshire lincolnshire fens uk operating companies edit the following is a breakdown of the stagecoach operating divisions . the centre of each operating region is shown in parentheses . legal company names are listed alongside the trading names for that company . bus division edit see also bus transport in the united kingdom stagecoach devon optare solo in july 2006 stagecoach south west stagecoach controls operations in devon through stagecoach devon consisting of as of may 2003 stagecoach devon limited . the trading name of this operation is stagecoach in devon . the headquarters are in exeter . stagecoach east stagecoach controls operations in the east through stagecoach east . it consists of cambus ltd. trading names are stagecoach in bedford stagecoach in cambridge stagecoach in huntingdonshire stagecoach in norfolk and stagecoach in peterborough . the headquarters are in cambridge . as of september 2010 stagecoach in northants transferred to a new midland division . stagecoach in the fens huntingdon now operates the longest guided busway in the world with the fleet for the busway running on bio fuel . stagecoach east midlands stagecoach controls operations in the east midlands area through stagecoach east midlands . it consists of lincolnshire road car co ltd. trading names include stagecoach in bassetlaw stagecoach in mansfield stagecoach in south yorkshire stagecoach grimsby cleethorpes stagecoach in hull and stagecoach in lincolnshire . the headquarters are in lincoln . stagecoach east scotland stagecoach controls operations in the east of scotland comprising fife scottish omnibuses ltd bluebird buses ltd jw coaches ltd. trading names include stagecoach in perth stagecoach bluebird stagecoach in fife and strathtay . it also operated the new forth fast hovercraft service from kirkcaldy to portobello . the headquarters are in kirkcaldy as of 2009 update . stagecoach north scotland stagecoach controls operations in aberdeenshire aberdeen city and the scottish highlands . the highlands business followed the takeover of the rapsons group orkney coaches highland country buses in 2008 adding to the network already operated in the city of inverness by stagecoach consisting of highland country buses limited . it trades as stagecoach in orkney kirkwall depot & outstations and stagecoach in lochaber fort william depot stagecoach in skye portree depot & outstation stagecoach in inverness aviemore inverness and tain depots and stagecoach in caithness thurso depot & outstations . the north scotland business also manages stagecoach bluebird which operates in aberdeenshire and aberdeen city . the north scotland headquarters are in inverness with some commercial hq functions also run from aberdeen . east london alexander alx400 bodied dennis trident 2 in london in may 2011 stagecoach london stagecoach purchased the east london and selkent divisions of london buses when they were privatised in 1994 . both operate tendered services for transport for london . deciding to focus on organic growth for its uk bus operations and citing the inflexibility of the london tendering system the london bus operations were sold to macquarie group on 31 august 2006 for 263.6 m. macquarie continued to use the stagecoach brand for a limited period under licence and stagecoach provided administrative and other support functions for a transitional period of 12 months from the sale . macquarie rebranded both into their original east london and selkent identities albeit updated . in october 2010 stagecoach reacquired its old london operations from macquarie bank for 59.5 m with both operations once again rebranded as stagecoach . 24 stagecoach manchester & wigan stagecoach controls operations in greater manchester through stagecoach manchester comprising greater manchester buses south ltd. trading names include stagecoach in manchester stagecoach