Singapore taxi firm ComfortDelGro acquires London’s Dial-a-Cab for $1.7m

April 19, 2018

Singapore-headquartered ComfortDelGro has acquired London taxi circuit operator Dial-a-Cab for £1.2 million ($1.7 million) as part of its expansion in the United Kingdom.

In a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange on Thursday, ComfortDelGro said the acquisition will be carried out by its wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK, CityFleet Networks Limited.

The acquisition will add another 1,100 black cabs to ComfortDelGro existing 1,900 London taxis currently in operation, further cementing its position as the largest taxi operator in the city.

“This acquisition will enable the group to grow and strengthen its position as the leading taxi circuit operator in London through an expansion of the customer and driver base,” said ComfortDelGro Managing Director and Group CEO Yang Ban Seng.

Besides its London taxi operations, ComfortDelGro also operates taxi despatch services in Liverpool and Aberdeen. It also operates scheduled bus services in London and inter-city express and general coach services across the UK and Ireland, catering to a wide spectrum of school, commuter, tourist and corporate coach passengers.

Yang added that ComfortDelGro’s CityFleet Networks was also awarded by the London Councils and Transport for London the Taxicard and Dial-A-Ride contract for another three years, with an option for a fourth.

Taxicard is the largest public sector day-to-day transport service in London for passengers with serious mobility impairments or who are severely sight impaired. The contract covers all 32 London boroughs and the City of London. CityFleet has, through its taxi subsidiary Computer Cab, held this contract over several decades

ComfortDelGro is one of the world’s largest land transport companies with a total fleet size of over 42,500 buses, taxis, and rental vehicles. It operates in China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.

In February this year, ComfortDelGro announced a £13.4 million ($19 million) acquisition of New Adventure Travel Limited (NAT Group), which operates buses and coaches across four depots in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, and Pontypridd in the UK.

ComfortDelGro was formed on 29 March 2003 through the merger of two land transport companies – Comfort Group and DelGro Corporation. Both had started out in the 1970s and had, by the time of the merger, grown to become successful listed land transport companies.