Business News

Birmingham pair merge as Take Me accelerates national brand plans

Mark Bursa

Take Me Group’s Birmingham subsidiary TC Cars has announced a merger with local rival Heritage Cars, with both businesses planning to operate under the Take Me umbrella.

The move, which creates a combined fleet in excess of 600 cars, is the latest step by the ambitious taxi company consolidator to build a national chain and brand. Managing director David Hunter said more mergers and acquisitions would follow, including further Birmingham operators, and the Take Me brand would be introduced to all the group’s operations later this year.

Traditional brands would be retained “for the foreseeable future”, Hunter said, with the “powered by Take Me” line and logo being introduced below the existing names.

The Birmingham merger had good synergy, Hunter said, with the two firms operating in neighbouring areas of the city with slightly different customer profiles. Heritage Cars served a slightly more up-market clientele, with TC more of an inner city service. Both companies were Autocab users, though other group businesses were on the iCabbi system. Hunter said he planned to develop a bespoke system for all Take Me companies and migrate all operating companies to that.

Hunter explained that the Take Me group would be structured “like McDonalds”, with some businesses directly owned and others operating a franchise. Take Me is backed by MBH Corporation, an investment company with a global portfolio of SMEtype businesses. MBH has funded a number of Take Me acquisitions, but not all. Another source of funding had also been identified and is likely to fund some of the future deals in the pipeline.

“We’re planning to conclude a deal a month this year,” said Hunter, though the short-term would see a clutch of deals coming on board. “There are five deals that are due to fall in the next six or seven weeks, including a large city in the south-west, one on the south coast, one in the north-west, one off the A14 and another in the west midlands.”

These join ADT of Leicester, Steve’s Cars in Huntingdon, VGT in Farnborough, Intercity of Stoke and Westside of Crewe, as well as the TC Cars/Heritage operation within the fast-expanding group. Other areas such as Scotland and South Wales have also been identified, as well as within the M25.

Hunter said flexibility was the key to doing deals with taxi companies. Some owners were happy to go with the MBH way of offering bonds, but “others want cold hard cash”, he said. With all deals, he said Take Me encouraged the owner or the “number two in the business” to stay on board.

“We’re not bankers or venture capitalists, we’re taxi people,” he said. “We always give MBH the opportunity to invest, but sometimes the SME accounts are not filed the way a PLC likes them, so we buy the company and tidy up.”

Ultimately the Take Me Group could become fully owned by MBH, though Hunter believes it is equally likely that the group could be floated as a separate PLC at some time in the future.

“At the moment we’re on phase one – buying fleets,” he said. “Phase two is developing technology. It’s like Uber in reverse!”

The long-term plan is to rebrand to Take Me everywhere, creating a national brand with its own app. Some of the taxi company names were “a bit old hat”, Hunter admitted, though their local strength was not to be underestimated, especially as there was a national trend during lockdown for customers to support local brands.

So initially, the local brands will be retained, with Take Me branding added – a move Hunter compared to the Euronics chain of electronics shops, which has grip buying to compete with national chains, but retains local shop names.

Eventually the branding will flip, with Take Me becoming the primary brand and the local brand secondary, and in time, the local brands could eventually disappear – the way regional television stations such as Granada and Central eventually became part of ITV.

Hunter believes “chimney pot” private hire operators will have a better future than those focused on corporate clients. “Zoom is not going to replace business meetings completely, but corporate travel is not just going to return to pre-Covid levels, perhaps ever. By 2030, we’ll be travelling less. But a lot of people working at home have got rid of their cars, and are more likely to use cab services as a result.”

[from left] Suky Sangha of Heritage Cars, Robert Wollaway of TC Cars, Hardip Sangha of Heritage and Andy Williams of TC celebrate the merger.

Take Me Group adds north Midlands duo in acquisition drive

Mark Bursa

Fast-growing taxi group Take Me Group has made two more acquisitions, adding Stoke-on-Trentbased Intercity Taxis and Westside Taxis in nearby Crewe to the roster. The Intercity deal is worth between £3 million and £4m, and is again backed by MBH Corporation plc, a diversified investment holding company, which has based its transport portfolio around the former ADT operation in Leicester, run by David Hunter (pictured) and Ashley Butcher.

MBH has now acquired 26 companies across a number of sectors around the world in a highly active acquisition drive.

Intercity Taxis was founded more than 50 years ago and operates a fleet of around 120 taxis. The company’s largest account is Staffordshire County Council, and other local authorities use the company to provide school run services.

The Westside deal is different and does not involve MBH. Westside proprietor Stephen Robinson has sold his business to Take Me directors John Gardner and David Hunter, who funded the deal themselves. “The 159 strong fleet starts our venture away from the midlands into the north-west,” said Hunter.

Intercity, founded in 1969, generated £2.1m in revenue for the year ended May 31, 2020 with pre-tax profits of around £500,000. The takeover will be settled mostly by way of an MBH listed bond which will pay out in five years. MBH is using its bond programme to fund its acquisitions, and this deal means MBH will have used approximately €37m of its bond programme leaving a balance of €13m to be used if required. David Hunter, CEO of Take Me Group, said: “Intercity Taxis is a historically brilliantly run firm, operating within a stable and established market. This presents a huge opportunity for continued growth for the transportation vertical within the MBH portfolio.”

Uber adds Oxford and Plymouth operators to ‘local cab’ pilot scheme

Mark Bursa

Uber has added a second city to its Local Cab scheme, with Oxford joining Plymouth as part of the pilot scheme.

Uber Local Cab allows passengers to book a trip with a local taxi company via the Uber app. The move follows the Competition & Markets Authority’s approval of Uber’s takeover of dispatch systems supplier Autocab.

Anyone opening the Uber app in Oxford will see the ‘Local Cab’ option which will connect passengers to the taxi firm 001 Taxis Oxford. In Plymouth, local firm Need-A-Cab is Uber’s partner. Users will have to download the latest version of the app to be able to see the Local Cab product.

Despite the Uber app being opened as many as 65,000 times per month in Oxford, passengers have not previously been able to book a ride in a local cab. To enable use of the app beyond the 40 UK towns and cities in which Uber currently operates, Uber is looking to work with local operators across the country.

Amir Khan, managing director of 001 Taxis Oxford, said: “This will give the people of Oxford another way to book with 001 Taxis Oxford – and anyone visiting the city who already uses the Uber app will now find it easy to book a ride with a local operator.”

Dave McIntosh, director of Need-A-Cab, said: “With the boost in passengers, we will also be looking to welcome new drivers to the company.” Uber’s app is opened up to 16,000 times a month in Plymouth, the company said.

Ash Kebriti, General Manager of Uber UK, said: “Every month, we see thousands of people in towns and cities across the UK where we currently don’t operate, open the Uber app and try to request a trip. Launching Local Cab in Oxford and Plymouth is an exciting first step in connecting these riders with local operators so that eventually the Uber app can be used anywhere in the country.”

Uber’s app will integrate with Autocab’s iGo network, which has the potential to connect passengers with 80,000 private hire and taxi drivers in the UK. The pilot is the first collaboration between the two companies since Uber bought Autocab last August.

Uber recognises GMB Union to represent its UK drivers on employment rights

In a landmark agreement, Uber has recognised the GMB Union to represent up to 70,000 drivers, the first time the ride-share giant has done so globally.

The move follows the UK Supreme Court ruling that Uber’s UK drivers should be classified as workers, with rights to the minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions, a decision that Uber has accepted.

GMB representatives will meet quarterly with Uber to discuss issues, though Uber said it would not engage in collective bargaining over earnings, including a minimum wage. “This agreement shows gig economy companies don’t have to be a wild west on the untamed frontier of employment rights,” said GMB national officer Mick Rix.

“While Uber and GMB may not seem like obvious allies, we’ve always agreed that drivers must come first, and today we have struck this important deal to improve workers’ protections,” said Uber’s Northern and Eastern Europe boss Jamie Heywood.

Gig-economy companies including Uber have long fought against unionisation and the classification of its staff as workers or employees rather than contractors. But GMB’s Rix said the deal “will give Uber confidence, and it will give the labour movement globally confidence, to sit down and replicate what we’re doing and try and better it”.

The first issue that will need to be addressed is the Supreme Court’s ruling that Uber drivers are at work when they sign on to the app. Uber contends that they are only at work when they accept a job.

GMB said it had first approached Uber several years ago – at a time when it accused Uber of having “Dickensian attitudes” to employment. But discussions moved on rapidly since the Supreme Court ruling in February.

By striking a deal with Uber, the GMB Union is reasserting itself as the principal union for the private hire and taxi sector over the App Drivers & Couriers Union, set up by former Uber drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam. ACDU was the prime mover behind various legal actions against Uber.

Veezu strengthens its regional hubs with Diamond Cars and A2B Taxis acquisitions

Mark Bursa

Veezu has strengthened two of its five major UK hubs by acquiring local competitors in Shropshire and South Wales, and the company is targeting further takeovers in 2021.

Go Carz, Shropshire’s largest private hire and taxi firm, has taken over Telford’s Diamond Cars, adding 270 vehicles and creating a 650-strong fleet of licensed vehicles in Telford. The Diamond Cars brand has been discontinued and all the cars are now under the Go Carz brand.

Diamond Cars founders Linda and Nigel Horler will oversee the transition to Go Carz and retire after 31 years in the business, but their son Dan, a driving force in the Diamond Cars business for many years, will join the Go Carz management team.

Veezu regional director Graham Hoof (pictured left, with Dan Horler) said: “We are delighted that Diamond Cars and Go Carz are joining forces and look forward to working with Dan. We now have more cars all operating from one system which means passengers in Telford can expect an even better service.”

The deal will give Go Carz increased capacity at peak times, and will help local driver-partners by reducing the dead mileage between bookings. The existing Diamond Cars telephone numbers are being retained, but app bookings will now be via the Go Carz app.

Meanwhile in South Wales, Veezu’s Newportbased Dragon Taxis business has acquired A2B Taxis in Barry to extend its service into the Vale of Glamorgan. The acquisition will add 150 vehicles across Barry and the Vale of Glamorgan. Veezu regional director Jack Price said: “Not only will the acquisition enhance service levels for residents and businesses across the Vale of Glamorgan, but it will also bridge our coverage between our existing operating areas of Cardiff and Bridgend.” Veezu has four other major service hubs throughout the UK, each operating under established local brands – A2B Radio Cars in the West Midlands, Amber Cars in Leeds, Go Carz in Shropshire and V Cars in the South West. Nathan Bowles, Veezu CEO, said: “It is a clear signal to the market that we are accelerating plans for further growth. As the UK’s leading private hire technology platform, we have an unrivalled reputation for successfully integrating private hire firms into our business.”

Bowles added that Newport-based Veezu would target several more acquisitions before the end of 2021. “We want to grow our position as a marketleading technology innovator and private hire platform. We are now identifying the next wave of acquisitions and are seeking several more private hire business owners looking to sell,” he said.

Free Now looks to recruit more drivers as demand rebounds following lockdown easing

Ride-hailing app Free Now is looking to recruit 10,000 new drivers to meet a bounce in demand after the easing of lockdown restrictions last month.

The company reported a 38% weekon-week increase in UK journey requests nationwide following the reopening of indoor hospitality venues on May 17.

In London, West End locations saw the largest increase in requests, indicating that nightlife is recovering. Tottenham Court Road experienced a whopping 188% rise in rides week-on-week, and Leicester Square 184%, the two largest increases in requests in the capital.

And in Edinburgh, Free Now reported the fastest growth among all UK cities, with journeys up by 108% in the first week after May 17 compared to the previous week.

In a statement, Free Now said journey numbers on the F app were approaching pre-pandemic levels, with daily volumes fluctuating around 90% of values from early March 2020, before the first lockdown.

Free Now said there has been a 150% increase in rides compared to the earlier stage of the lockdown in April. On May 17th, between 5 and 6pm soared 107% week-on-week, as people could go to an indoor restaurant or a pub after work for the first time since early November.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular day for travelling last week was Friday largely thanks to a huge growth in the evening as people were hitting the pubs and restaurants. Friday and Saturday 23:00 – 00:00 became the busiest ride-hailing time slot of the week for the first time this year.

Free Now general manager Mariusz Zabrocki said: “It’s great to see the UK come alive again as the restrictions continue to ease, following what has been an extremely tough year for all, including the travel and transport industry. With many people having lost their jobs during the pandemic, we’re pleased to be recruiting such a large number of drivers across the UK.”

In London, Daimler-BMW-owned Free Now works with black cab and PHV drivers. The black cab service is also available in London, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Brighton, Reading, Oxford, Derby and Leicester.

Union claims Scottish Government support has ‘short-changed’ drivers and operators

Mark Bursa

Trade union Unite has strongly criticised the Scottish Government for “short-changing” taxi drivers and operators in its latest round of Covid-19 support grants.

Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has today announced an additional £62 million of support for 37,000 taxi and private hire operators in Scotland. This amounts to either £1,000 for those operating single cabs, or £3,000 for fleets of up to nine. Drivers who previously received a £1,500 support grant will receive an additional payment of £1,500.

Taxi operators will be contacted by their local authorities this month and will also receive grants of up to £10,000 depending on the number of vehicle licences they hold. A small number of the largest operators will now be paid up to £15,000.

But the new package “falls way short” of what is needed to stabilise the trade, says the Unite Scotland union. Unite has repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to deliver a £10,000 grant for each taxi operator irrespective of size, which is the equivalent support being given to all other small business owners.

Unite also claimed there was a “postcode lottery” affecting support for the taxi trade as local authorities have offered different support through discretionary funding. Glasgow has offered no ‘top-up’ discretionary support.

Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish Secretary, said: “Support is desperately needed and welcome but this is a sector that has been failed once again. We have regularly brought this to the attention of Ministers and indeed the First Minister regarding the lack of support. The pleas of many within the trade have been ignored.”

“This announcement falls way short for the vast majority of operators who manage fewer than ten cabs, and who continue to face high fixed costs at a time when the trade remains in crisis.

“The Scottish Government have rowed back on their manifesto commitments and Unite will continue to fight for a substantial and longterm financial solution to the crisis our members face in the taxi trade.”

Last year, Scottish drivers protested against the lack of support outside the Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh

Driver Bubble to install safety screens across Addison Lee executive fleet

Mark Bursa

Partition screen supplier Driver Bubble is to fit new safety screens behind the front seats of Addison Lee’s executive fleet of Mercedes E-class vehicles, adding to the safety screens already fitted to its standard Ford Galaxy and VW Sharan MPV fleet.

This partnership with Driver Bubble is designed to give Addison Lee’s drivers and passengers the reassurance they need when travelling as the UK economy starts to open up again.

Addison Lee chief operations officer Patrick Gallagher said: “Throughout the past year, the health and safety of our passengers and drivers has been our number one priority. As part of our Safer Journey Initiative, we were the first Private Hire Vehicle company to install TfL-approved safety screens across our entire standard fleet. The addition of the Driver Bubble safety screens within our E-Class fleet keeps us ahead of the competition.”

Driver Bubble director Thomas Kruyne said: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the team at Driver Bubble is consistently addressing critical challenges faced by the transportation, taxi, and private hire industries. This partnership with Addison Lee supports the continuous effort made by the industry to address challenges due to the Covid-19.”

The Driver Bubble Shield is approved by Transport for London and has been subjected to impact, light fire and chemical resistance tests, as well as airbag deployment tests, to meet legislative and automotive standards. It fits Mercedes E-Class W213 (2017-2021) models, is easy to maintain, effortless to install, and economical. It has optical transparency, allowing the driver and passengers to communicate without feeling isolated.

MBE for Cambridge taxi boss Nemer, who gave free rides to NHS frontline workers

A Cambridge-based taxi operator who drove NHS staff to and from work for free, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Camcab owner Rowhi Nemer, 63, (pictured) offered the services of his company free of charge to frontline NHS and Air Ambulance staff in the first Coronavirus lockdown last March. Nemer said he had re-mortgaged his property in order to keep his staff working and paid. He said: “To be honest, I’ve been doing this sort of charity work for 30 years – it’s how I was brought up. I can’t feel great inside unless I do something good on the outside,” adding that the award of an MBE was “very special for me, my family and people I work with”.

Nemer is a popular figure in the trade. Writing on LinkedIn, industry consultant Dr Mike Galvin said: “Rowhi works tirelessly in big and small ways for charity – the Magpas Air Ambulance is a particular focus for him but he does so much for so many. During the Covid crisis he has been energised completely to assist and support the NHS. CamCab is an amazing business and reflects Rowhi’s community spirit.”

Glasgow Private Hire and Hampden Cars merge to form ‘invincible’ GlasGO Cabs

Mark Bursa

Two major Glasgow operators have merged to form the biggest taxi and private hire fleet in the city. The combined Glasgow Private Hire and Hampden Cars operations will be known as GlasGO Cabs and will operate more than 1,000 cars. Both companies have been operating in the city for more than 20 years.

GlasGO Cabs is covers the entire city along with council areas South Lanarkshire, East Renfrewshire and surrounding areas. It also has the benefits of being a dual-licensed fleet, with both hackney carriage and private hire fleets. And with a large combined fleet, GlasGO cars claims it will offer reduced waiting times.

GlasGO Cabs has also launched a new app to coincide with the merger. Hampden Cars general manager Martin Hogg said: “Customers will now get an improved service because we have a bigger fleet. Technology is also playing a part as we are doing a big push on contactless payments in vehicles, including Apple Pay.”

GlasGO Cabs has also made sure that every vehicle follows the latest government guidelines during the pandemic. and vehicles are regularly sanitised.

The two competitors realised during the pandemic that working together would create a stronger service for its staff and customers.

“The two owners started talking and came up with the idea as it made sense to join forces and move forward together,” said Hogg. “Everybody is looking forward to coming out of lockdown and to start a new chapter. Personally, it’ll be great to see a bigger company flourishing in Glasgow and hopefully take the lion’s share of the market.”

Glasgow Private Hire manager Stuart Brennan said: “I’ve been involved in the taxi industry for a long time and it’s good to see this progression. The feedback so far from both companies is optimistic and GlasGO Cabs is going to build a very large and invincible fleet.”

GlasGO Cabs plans to go electric and create an eco-friendly fleet in time for phase two of Glasgow’s Low Emission Zone in 2023. This will include more LTI hybrid electric hackney taxis, the first of which joined the Hampden Cars fleet back in 2014.

Martin Hogg from Hampden Cars (left) and Stuart Brennan from Glasgow Private Hire

Ola strengthens UK Board by recruiting Sir Mike Rake and ex-TfL man Leon Daniels

Ride-hailing operator Ola has announced two senior board appointments. Sir Mike Rake has joined the Ola UK Board as non-executive Chairman, while former Transport for London expert Leon Daniels (pictured) is now an independent non-executive director.

The two will draw on their experience across the private and public sectors to provide stronger oversight, corporate governance, and strategic counsel to Ola as it continues to grow in the UK market.

Ola started operations in the UK in 2018 and has expanded rapidly since, launching in London in February 2020. Ola now operates across 27 local authorities, including Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. It has further expanded its offering for UK riders, including launching Ola Corporate, a partnership with Gett.

Sir Mike Rake previously served in a range of senior boardroom roles including as chairman of Worldpay Group plc (2015-2018), BT Group plc (2007-2017), EasyJet plc (2010-2013) and international chairman of KPMG (20022007), along with serving as president of the Confederation of British Industry (2013-2015).

Leon Daniels served as managing director, surface transport at TfL until 2017 and previously held the position of Commercial Director at UK Bus, overseeing new ventures in UK and international transport. In 2019, he was awarded an OBE for Services to Transport in recognition of his expertise and experience across the UK, Europe, and Asia. Sir Mike and Leon will join Balasubrahmanyam Vijay Juturi, managing director Marc Rozendal and operations director Karl Lutzow on the board of Ola UK.

Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sir Mike and Leon to the Ola UK Board. As a scaled, global business with a major presence in the UK, the appointment of such highquality independent board members underlines our commitment to the UK and the scale of our ambition in this dynamic market.”

Sir Mike Rake said: “Ola is one of the most ambitious and innovative global technology companies and I am very pleased to be joining at this stage of its journey. The application of technology to mobility holds out an exciting future of cleaner, safer and more efficient transportation for millions of UK passengers, and I look forward to helping Ola continue to do what they do best – innovate for the benefit of society.”