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Transport giant ComfortDelGro acquires Addison Lee for £269m Mark Bursa
Global transport giant ComfortDelgro has made a dramatic return to the London taxi market with the for £269.1 million acquisition of Addison Lee. The deal includes ComCab – the black taxi firm that ComfortDelGro sold to Addison Lee in 2021. Addison Lee CEP Liam Griffin will stay with the business. The deal has been carried out via ComfortDelGro’s City Fleet Networks subsidiary. The 7,500 drivers and 5,000 vehicles of the Addison Lee’s London-based private hire, taxi and courier network will join CityFleet Networks’ existing fleet of 1,800 private hire and black taxi vehicles elsewhere in the UK including Liverpool, the Wirral, Chester and Aberdeen. Earlier this year CityFleet Networks also bought Cmac Group, which provides pre-planned and on-demand ground transportation to businesses, as well as private and ride-share transfers to airports, bus and train stations and ports. Singapore-based ComfortDelGro 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 inter-city coaches. In a statement, ComfortDelGro said the acquisition “serves as a catalyst for ComfortDelGro’s expansion into an attractive premium mobility segment, strengthening its overall point-topoint proposition in the UK and globally”.
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Liam Griffin: 'ComfortDelGro positions us perfectly for further expansion into the premium segment'
ComfortDelGro’s group CEO Cheng Siak Kian said: “Addison Lee is an established leader in serving the differentiated premium segment in London. Beyond expanding our footprint in the UK, this acquisition will enable us to use Addison Lee’s expertise to deepen and scale our premium point-to-point capability globally.” Liam Griffin said: “Over the past four years, ComfortDelGro has demonstrated its deep knowledge of the business, and a clear understanding of our customers’ and drivers’ needs. This, alongside the strength and heritage of the Addison Lee brand, has positioned us perfectly for further expansion into the premium segment.” “ComfortDelGro is a perfect complementary fit for us. They share our philosophy, vision, and ambition for the Addison Lee brand and bring significant inter-
national industry expertise to the business.” Liam Griffin led a consortium including Cheyne Capital that acquired the business from venture capitalist Carlyle Group in 2020. Carlyle had acquired Addison Lee from the Griffin family in 2013 for a reported £300m. But Carlyle Group struggled with the business, and in early 2020 Addison Lee was rescued by a group of eight banks, which injected £45m into the company and refinanced £100m of the company’s £250m of debt. The deal removed Carlyle Group and reinstated Griffin as CEO. Subsequently Addison Lee returned to profitability following the takeovers of ComCab in 2021 and Green Tomato Cars in 2023, and Griffin decided to put the business up for sale earlier this year. Following the sale to ComfortDelGro, Griffin
said he would remain with Addison Lee along with the current key management, to drive the next phase of its growth. ComfortDelGro Chairman Mark Greaves hinted that the Addison Lee brand could be used more widely in ComfortDelGro’s operations, saying: “This acquisition is in line with our strategy to expand the Group’s point-to-point mobility portfolio. We will use Addison Lee’s strong brand, customer base and reliable premium driver network to continue creating great journeys for our customers and the communities we serve.” With 90% of their existing fleet already made up of cleaner energy vehicles, this will help accelerate our fleet transition journey,” he said. The addition of Addison Lee will grow ComfortDelGro’s taxi and private hire network to more than 34,000 vehicles globally.
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