Addison Lee’s annual profits soared last year due to rising demand for its premium taxi services.

The private taxi company reported a 41 percent increase in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), reaching £27.4 million for the financial year ending August 2023.

The increase came alongside revenue of £224.8 million, helped by Londoners opting for the higher-end premium offering. Addison Lee has long served the capital’s city dwellers, offering rides to Canary Wharf and the City of London.

Chief Executive Liam Griffin said today that demand for premium transport “continues to grow and we are now ready 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 black cab provider ComCabs.

“By integrating Green Tomato Cars and ComCab, we have expanded our premium services and been able to offer higher-value rides while reducing our on-demand time for rides across the capital to less than 10 minutes,” Griffin said.

The company aims to switch to greener vehicles by spring 2024 and has spent around £80 million over the past three years modernising its fleet. It currently operates 600 PHEV VW Multivans and a fleet of 1,000 fully electric VWs.

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

He has previously pointed to a decline in demand caused by increasing hybrid working trends since the pandemic and a decline in “late-night” deal-making.

Addison Lee currently operates around 7,500 vehicles and is the first choice for 80 percent of FTSE 250 companies.