Addison Lee was sold to Singapore’s ComfortDelGro for £270 million

Iconic London taxi group Addison Lee is being sold to a Singapore-based multinational for £269.1 million.

ComfortDelGro said on Wednesday it would acquire the premium private hire, courier and black taxi provider, with CityFleet Networks taking over the 7,500 drivers and 5,000 vehicles of Addison Lee’s London network.

It follows a restructuring led by Addison Lee chief executive Liam Griffin who helped the group survive the Covid-19 pandemic before ramping up again.

Griffin, the son of company founder John, initially quit in 2018 after falling out with new bosses brought in by investor Carlyle.

He then bought the company back in 2020 for £125 million using his own money and cash from Cheyne Capital.

Addison Lee’s most recently published Companies House accounts show that the company made a pre-tax loss of £602,000 in the 12 months to August 31, 2023, compared to a profit of around £2.8m the year before.

Griffin, who will remain at Addison Lee along with “key” management colleagues, said: “ComfortDelGro has demonstrated its deep knowledge of the business and a clear understanding of the needs of our customers and drivers.

‘ComfortDelGro suits us perfectly. They share our philosophy, vision and ambition for the Addison Lee brand and bring significant international industry expertise to the company.”

The deal expands CityFleet Networks’ private hire and black taxi fleets elsewhere in the UK, including Liverpool, Wirral, Chester and Aberdeen.

The addition of Addison Lee will grow the group’s taxi and private hire network to more than 34,000 vehicles worldwide.

ComfortDelGro also offers pre-scheduled and on-demand ground transportation to companies, as well as private and ride-sharing services to airports, bus and train stations and ports, through the recently acquired company CMAC.

The Group also owns and operates Metroline buses and Westbus coaches in London, Adventure Travel buses and coaches in Wales, as well as the Megabus, Scottish Citylink and Irish Citylink intercity bus services.

Group chief executive Cheng Siak Kian said: ‘In addition to expanding our footprint in Britain, this acquisition will enable us to leverage Addison Lee’s expertise to deepen and build our premium point-to-point capabilities globally scales. It will also strengthen our overall point-to-point proposition, creating strong synergy with our existing businesses.”

Chairman Mark Greaves added: ‘We will leverage Addison Lee’s strong brand, customer base and reliable network of premium drivers to continue creating great journeys for our customers and the communities we serve – a promise we make across all our businesses make it happen.

“With 90 percent of their existing fleet already consisting of cleaner energy vehicles, this will help accelerate our fleet transition journey.”