Final tributes to Sir Reo

Sir Reo Stakis' coffin is carried from the church

The funeral of hotelier and restauranteur Sir Reo Stakis has taken place in Glasgow.

Hundreds of mourners attended the service at St Luke's Greek Orthodox Cathedral in the city's west end on Tuesday.

The multi-millionaire entrepreneur, who was buried at Dunblane Cemetery later that afternoon, died last Tuesday at the age of 88.

The ceremony was led by Sir Reo's friend His Eminence Gregorios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain.

Sir Reo Stakis: Leisure empire

Glasgow Lord Provost Alex Mosson was among the 500 mourners who joined Sir Reo's widow, Lady Anna Stakis, and his family at the service.

The Archbishop described Sir Reo as a "great man" and an "eminent personality" who had made Scotland his second home.

"Life for him was about expressing God's will and serving his fellow man," he said.

"This explains his generosity of spirit and his sense of duty to his family, community and country.

"It also explains his passion for life, his quiet, unassuming nature and enormous inner strength."

Sir Reo's son Andros said his mother was his father's "soul-mate and unsung heroine".

Mountain home

And he added: "Scotland for him was a land of opportunity and dazzling beauty."

Sir Reo was just 14 in 1927 when he left his remote mountain home on Cyprus after the death of his father.

He arrived in Scotland with one suitcase of belongings and another of his mother's lace which he sold door to door.

He went on to build a chain of eating houses and hotels which grew into a £1.2bn empire, before being sold to Ladbrokes two years ago.

Sir Reo, who lived in the grounds of the Dunblane Hydro in Perthshire, suffered a stroke in June.

He is survived by his wife, two daughters, four sons and nine grandchildren.