New management installed by private equity made 'a hash' of taxi company Addison Lee, according to the company's boss, who bought back his family business.
Liam Griffin, Addison Lee's chief executive and son of founder John, told The Mail on Sunday that US buyout barons Carlyle took over the company his father set up in 1975 and then brought in bosses to run the business.
“When they first came in, I was completely in awe of their world,” he said. “You go, oh my God. They're so smart.'
'Painful to watch': Carlyle had bought a majority stake in Addison Lee for £300 million in 2013
Carlyle had bought a majority stake in Addison Lee for £300 million in 2013, making the Griffin family millionaires. But Griffin said it was “painful to watch” after the company's chief financial officer, Andrew Boland, was promoted to CEO.
Griffin said Carlyle offered firepower to invest that was previously unavailable, but he added: “Good ideas have to be executed well and to do that you have to trust management.”
Griffin quit in 2018 after falling out with the new bosses and was even banned from entering the company building. By then it was posting a loss of £39 million.
He bought the company for £125 million in 2020 using his own money and cash from Cheyne Capital.
The problems under Carlyle's ownership stemmed in part from a plan to expand Addison Lee's taxi services to major cities in Britain and the US, moving away from its traditional focus on transporting office workers around the city.
“This was a great idea, but really poorly executed,” Griffin said. 'Unfortunately, Boland and his team could not deliver what was needed.
'For private equity, where they lack knowledge and experience, they buy it. This is how consultants came out of our ears.
'We had layers of management all telling the layer below what to do and what not to do, and no one actually did anything. I've learned a lot of lessons.'
The company, which has a fleet of 7,500 vehicles, has seen business recover from the pandemic.
It reported a profit of £19m in 2022, up from £7.9m in the previous year. Carlyle declined to comment. Boland was contacted for comment.