Addison Lee profits up nearly half as CEO eyes further expansion

Addison Lee’s full-year profits surged last year amid increasing demand for its premium taxi services.

The private hire taxi firm reported a 41 per cent increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), taking its tally to £27.4m for the financial year ended August 2023.

The increase came alongside turnover of £224.8m, propped up by Londoner’s opting for its higher-end, premium offering. Addison Lee has long served the capital’s cityfolk, offering trips to Canary Wharf and the City of London.

Chief executive Liam Griffin said today demand for premium transport “only continues to grow and we’re now poised to take the business to the next level with a focus on further expansion and growth.”

Addison Lee acquired London’s first hybrid car service, Green Tomoto Cars, for an undisclosed sum in July. In 2021, it snapped up the black cab provider ComCabs.

“Through our integration of Green Tomato Cars and ComCab, we have grown our premium services and been able to take on higher value journeys while reducing our on-demand time to less than 10 minutes for journeys across the capital,” Griffin said.

The firm has been eyeing a shift to greener vehicles by Spring 2024, spending around £80m on fleet upgrades over the last three years. It currently operates 600 PHEV VW multivans and a fleet of 1,000 fully electric VW.

Griffin is the son of Addison Lee founder John Griffin and in 2020, bought the business back from the private equity giant Carlyle.

He has in the past highlighted a dip in demand caused by increasing hybrid working trends since the pandemic and a slowdown in ‘late night’ dealmaking.

Addison Lee currently operates around 7,500 vehicles and is used as the top choice for 80 per cent of FTSE 250 businesses.