Addison Lee has bought US executive car firm Flyte Tyme for $25m (£20.5m), turning the London-based cabbie into one of the biggest global chauffeur companies in the world. The deal marks Addison Lee's 10th acquisition in six years and is part of a strategy to boost international growth and leverage its mobile app in cities outside London amid stiff competition from rival car service Uber. In July, Addison Lee bought upmarket taxi company Tristar, which is based in Middlesex but has operations across 80 countries. A year earlier, it acquired London-based Cyclone VIP Cars & Couriers. This latest acquisition will strengthen Addison Lee's existing business in North America and boost the group's annual sales to nearly £400m. Addison Lee, which was acquired by US private equity firm Carlyle Group in 2013 for £300m, operates across the US, Europe and Asia. Andy Boland, chief executive, said: "This is an important moment for the executive car industry. By combining Flyte Tyme’s North American presence with Tristar’s global operations and Addison Lee’s digital booking platforms, we can now truly lead the ground transportation industry providing, for the first time, global managed ground transportation services through a single platform." Addison Lee was founded by ex-cabbie John Griffin in 1975 has grown from just one car to a fleet of more than 4,800 in central London, carrying more than 10 million passengers across the capital each year.
Private hire taxi company Addison Lee has bought US executive car firm Flyte Tyme for $25m in a bid to boost US growth and increase adoption of its mobile app in cities outside London. Driven by competition from Uber, the acquisition is the company's 10th in six years, and follows purchases of high-end taxi company Tristar in July and London-based Cyclone VIP Cars & Courier in annual. The acquisition of Flyte Tyme will bring Addison Lee's 2015 sales to nearly £400m.