Christian businessman Brian Souter has been named one of the most generous celebrities in the UK for supporting a variety of charitable causes.

According to a report by Premier, the annual list released by the Sunday Times Giving List indicated that Souter and his sister Ann Gloag, in the past 12 months raised or donated more than £20 million for social, medical and Christian causes.

Souter, who is a member of the evangelical Church of the Nazarene has always been open about his Christian faith and has stated that his deep seated faith is his priority above money and riches.

Souter runs one of the biggest transport companies, Stagecoach, which operates in the UK and North America. The firm, which has been in the transport business for the past three decades, operates 13,000 buses, coaches, trains and trams, and employs 30,000 people worldwide.

Also among the celebrities who made it to the list this year are Elton John who gave £26.8 million to his Aids Foundations in Britain and the US, and Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who donated £10.3 million through two of her charities, the Lumos Foundation and the Volant Charitable Trust, according to a report by Belfast Telegraph.

Golfer Rory McIlroy also joined the most generous list for donating £780,000 to his charity and pledging £250,000 to Mencap.

Football star David Beckham, for his part raised £5 million for charity while former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie raised £4.5 million for cancer care centres in memory of his mother.

Rock band Coldplay donated £1.7 million to charitable causes, while Beatles drummer Ringo Starr raised over £6 million from Beatles memorabilia to support social welfare projects.