Macquarie deal could signal start of new era for passenger transport

Investment banks are circling over the passenger transport sector and are likely to swoop down and buy up operations, according to Brian Souter. The Stagecoach chief executive was speaking last week, just days after his group agreed to sell its 1,300-vehicle London bus business to Australia’s Macquarie Bank for £263.6m.

The sale prompted speculation that Stagecoach was clearing the decks for a merger with another UK group or a management buyout, but this was dismissed by Souter. He...