2019 PRODRIVER 100 – Growth in a tough market

The definitive league table of the uk’s private hire and taxi industy
Despite austere economic conditions, the looming catastrophe of Brexit and an onslaught of new app-driven market entrants, Britain’s private hire and taxi industry is managing to weather the storm.
As was the case in 2018, takeover and merger activity has more or less ground to a halt. There are instances of large operators picking off smaller rivals, for example V-Cars recently acquiring a rival in Swindon, adding around 100 cars to the fleet. But there have been no significant takeovers within the ProDriver 100.
Nevertheless, Britain’s 100 largest private hire and taxi operators have continued to grow in terms of fleet size.
The leading 100 private hire operators in the UK grew their combined fleet from an adjusted base of 57,776 in 2018 to 58,897 as of the end of September 2018.
The increase, of 1,121 vehicles, represents a 1.94% increase in the overall fleet of the top 100 companies. This growth rate is considerably less than the change from 2017-18, where the overall fleet grew by 3,438 vehicles, a rise of 6.28%, and less than the 2016-17 increase of 3.57%. So there is a slowing of the national figure, though this is skewed rather by events in London.
The 2019 figure has been adjusted to include like-for-like data about a small number of companies omitted from last year’s table. It means average fleet size among the leading 100 companies has risen from 582 to 589.
While economic conditions haven’t changed dramatically in the past 12 months, but the impact of new technology-driven ride-hailing apps such as Uber is harder to pin down. There is plenty of evidence that Uber may have peaked in London, and indeed, it is struggling to convince Transport for London that it should receive a full licence.
Nevertheless, Uber continues to have an impact in London, taking business from black cans and private hire operators alike. And it is itself under threat from a number of new market entrants, all competing for the same limited pool of drivers. Taxify morphed into Bolt, and now has a London licence. French operator Kapten has also entered London, but Indian-backed rival Ola has only attempted to launch in cities away from the capital. Uber’s main US rival, Lyft, is rumoured to be poised to enter, but is yet to show its hand.
We are still not including these ride-hailing apps in the list, as it is difficult to pin down an actual number of Uber cars in operation. Uber’s fanciful claim of 40,000 is not backed up in the real world, and many Uber drivers work only part-time for the business, and may work for rivals as well as existing operators as well.
Outside London the position is different, though Uber’s disregard for local licensing makes it again hard to pin down exactly where the drivers are based. If we can devise a reliable formula, we’d make the case for including these operators.
The research also shows that the top 100 companies operate more than one in five of all the taxis and private hire vehicle in use. New DfT figures for England alone give an overall figure of around 291,800, and an adjusted “England 100” shows that the leading 100 operators operate around 19% of the total number of cars.
The entry point for the ProDriver 100 has risen significantly since 2016, but has actually fallen slightly since 2018. In 2016 a fleet of just over 200 cars was enough to gain entry to the table; in 2017 the bottom line had risen to 235 cars. In 2018 it rose to a peak of 270 cars; indeed, but has fallen back to 260 this year.
A number of companies that were previously in the top 100 have fallen out due to decreases in fleet size, and one company. Sovereign Executive of London, appears to have been wound up since 2018, though it may have restarted under a different brand, with fewer cars.
We’ve also captured data on a number of companies that had previously not volunteered their information to us. This has had the effect of pushing some of the smaller companies down and out of the table, but not sufficiently to increase the entry point.
We’re still monitoring companies down to 200 and below vehicles, though beyond this point it becomes harder to identify the operators. A very large number of local operators have fleets of around 100 cars, but reaching a fleet size of 150 is a little harder to achieve, and often involves local mergers or takeovers.
Addison Lee is still number one, though its fleet has declined slightly. Tristar Worldwide, acquired in 2017, took on its parent’s executive fleet. This leaves Tristar at number 8 in its own right – the combined Addison Lee group fleet would be 4,700, down from 5,325 in 2018, an indication of how tough it is in London even for a market dominator.
We continue to report the four Veezu subsidiaries as separate companies, as other than some common systems, there is little synergy between the companies. Bristol-based V Cars, number 7 in the ProDriver 100. Veezu subsidiaries Amber Cars (number 11), Dragon Taxis (12) and A2B (21) would give Veezu a combined fleet of 3,520, which would place it a clear second in the ProDriver 100.
The entry point for the top 20 has risen to 750 cars, the highest level to date. Back in 2015 when the ProDriver 100 started, a fleet of more than 500 cars would have made the top 20. This indicates the way the table is compressing at the top end. The big are getting bigger. Even so, there has been some evidence of fleet sizes falling at the very top, with the top 10 entry point falling from 950 cars to 915. Still a substantial target for any company looking to get really big.
The 2018 ProDriver 100 is the only detailed and definitive research study into the leading private hire and taxi operators in the UK. It is now in its fifth year. The ProDriver 100 ranks the top private hire, chauffeur and taxi operators in order of fleet size.
Professional Driver has refined and cross-checked the data since 2018. All companies in the list have been contacted and their data has been updated where new figures are available. We haven’t split hackney operators from private hire operators – indeed, many companies outside London operate under a dual licence system. We have this year for the first time included the largest London Black Taxi fleets. While these companies are fleets of one-man operators, they are tied to a specific operator’s “circuit “ and generally do not work for competitors.
Uber is not included; nor are other app-based technology platforms. Although Uber does register as a licensed private hire operator in the cities where it offers a service, it could hardly be defined as a conventional operator. It may hold licences and hire drivers, but the terms of employment are very different to most other firms.
Ranking 2019 | Ranking 2018 | Move | Company | HQ / City | Fleet Size 2019 | Fleet Size 2018 | Fleet Size Change | System |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 0 | Addison Lee | London | 3,750 | 4,300 | -550 | Own |
2 | 2 | 0 | ComCab / DialaCab London Black Cab Fleet | London | 2,700 | 2,500 | 200 | N/A |
3 | 3 | 0 | Delta Taxis | Bootle | 2,200 | 2,100 | 100 | MT Data |
4 | 4 | 0 | City Taxis | Sheffield | 1,950 | 1,950 | 0 | iCabbi |
5 | 6 | 1 | Alpha Taxis | Liverpool | 1,350 | 1,100 | 250 | iCabbi |
6 | 5 | -1 | Go Carz | Shrewsbury | 1,200 | 1,200 | 0 | iCabbi |
7 | 8 | 1 | V-Cars | Bristol | 1,050 | 950 | 100 | iCabbi |
8 | 7 | -1 | Tristar | West Drayton | 950 | 1,025 | -75 | Own |
9 | 9 | 0 | Fonacab | Belfast | 925 | 925 | 0 | iCabbi |
10 | 10 | 0 | Boro Taxis | Middlesbrough | 915 | 915 | 0 | Autocab |
11 | 11 | 0 | Amber Cars Leeds | Leeds | 900 | 850 | 50 | iCabbi |
12 | 11 | -1 | Dragon Taxis | Cardiff | 850 | 850 | 0 | iCabbi |
12 | 11 | -1 | Glasgow Taxis | Glasgow | 850 | 850 | 0 | Cordic |
14 | 14 | 0 | Value Cabs | Belfast | 800 | 800 | 0 | Autocab |
15 | 27 | 12 | Street Cars | Manchester | 775 | 607 | 168 | Autocab |
15 | 21 | 6 | Argyle Satellite | Birkenhead | 775 | 700 | 75 | iCabbi |
15 | 15 | 0 | Network Private Hire | Glasgow | 775 | 775 | 0 | Autocab |
18 | 18 | 0 | Aqua Cars | Portsmouth | 750 | 725 | 25 | Autocab |
18 | 17 | -1 | Arrow Cars | Leeds | 750 | 750 | 0 | iCabbi |
18 | 15 | -3 | DG Taxis | Nottingham | 750 | 950 | -200 | Autocab |
21 | 19 | -2 | A2B Radio Cars | Solihull | 720 | 720 | 0 | iCabbi |
22 | 20 | -2 | Speedline Taxis | Milton Keynes | 715 | 715 | 0 | Autocab |
23 | 33 | 10 | Skyline Taxis | Milton Keynes | 700 | 500 | 200 | iCabbi |
24 | 22 | -2 | Panther Taxis | Cambridge | 679 | 660 | 19 | iCabbi |
25 | 22 | -3 | Parker Car Service | Isleworth | 660 | 660 | 0 | Cordic |
26 | 24 | -2 | Blueline Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 650 | 650 | 0 | iCabbi |
27 | 26 | -1 | Britannia Taxis | Liverpool | 625 | 625 | 0 | iCabbi |
28 | 64 | 36 | Brunel | London | 600 | 400 | 200 | Catalina |
28 | 27 | -1 | Green Tomato Cars | London | 600 | 600 | 0 | Own |
28 | 27 | -1 | Southern Taxis / South Coast Taxis | Saltdean | 600 | 600 | 0 | N/A |
31 | 64 | 33 | King Kabs | Chester | 575 | 420 | 155 | Autocab |
32 | 30 | -2 | Lucky 7 Private Hire | Stoke-On-Trent | 556 | 556 | 0 | Autocab |
33 | 24 | -9 | Club Cars | Wythenshawe | 550 | 650 | -100 | iCabbi |
33 | 31 | -2 | Mainline Sevens | Salford | 550 | 550 | 0 | Autocab |
35 | 33 | -2 | The Keen Group | London | 540 | 500 | 40 | Cordic |
36 | 32 | -4 | Metro Taxis | Bolton | 525 | 525 | 0 | Autocab |
37 | 48 | 11 | Noda Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 520 | 520 | 0 | Autocab |
38 | 33 | -5 | Goldline Car Services | London | 510 | 510 | 0 | Autocab |
39 | 33 | -6 | Skyex | Hayes | 500 | 515 | -15 | Autocab |
39 | 78 | 39 | Lynx Taxis | Stockport | 500 | 300 | 200 | Icabbi |
39 | 33 | -6 | Central Taxis | Coventry | 500 | 500 | 0 | Sherlock |
42 | 52 | 10 | Budget Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 480 | 410 | 70 | Autocab |
43 | 39 | -4 | City Cabs | Edinburgh | 475 | 475 | 0 | Other |
44 | 39 | -5 | Royal Cars | Oxford | 472 | 475 | -3 | iCabbi |
45 | 41 | -4 | Capital Cars | Edinburgh | 465 | 465 | 0 | Cordic |
45 | 41 | -4 | Central Radio Taxis | Edinburgh | 465 | 465 | 0 | Cordic |
47 | 43 | -4 | Castle Cars | Birmingham | 460 | 460 | 0 | Autocab |
48 | 55 | 7 | Royal Cars | Stockton-On-Tees | 450 | 465 | -15 | iCabbi |
48 | 43 | -5 | iRide London / Swiss Cottage Cars | London | 450 | 450 | 0 | Autocab |
48 | 46 | -2 | Dean Taxis | Gateshead | 450 | 430 | 20 | Autocab |
48 | 43 | -5 | 247 Radio Cars | Birmingham | 450 | 450 | 0 | iCabbi |
52 | 71 | 19 | Max Cabs | Accrington | 435 | 325 | 110 | iCabbi |
52 | 52 | 0 | TC Cars | Birmingham | 435 | 435 | 0 | Autocab |
54 | 46 | -8 | Wheels Private Hire | Leeds | 430 | 430 | 0 | Autocab |
55 | N/a | AK Manor | Birmingham | 425 | 425 | 425 | Autocab | |
55 | 48 | -7 | Cresta Cars | Manchester | 425 | 425 | 0 | Autocab |
55 | 48 | -7 | LA Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 425 | 430 | -5 | Autocab |
55 | 48 | -7 | Rainbow City Taxis | Aberdeen | 425 | 425 | 0 | Auriga |
59 | 55 | -4 | Radio Taxis | Southampton | 420 | 415 | 5 | Autocab |
59 | 109 | 50 | Star Cars | Birmingham | 420 | 420 | 0 | Autocab |
61 | 52 | -9 | Go Cars | Luton | 405 | 410 | -5 | iCabbi |
62 | 55 | -7 | Abbey Cars | Feltham | 400 | 400 | 0 | iCabbi |
62 | 55 | -7 | Metro Taxis | Stockport | 400 | 410 | -10 | Autocab |
62 | 55 | -7 | Atlas Cars | London | 400 | 400 | 0 | Cordic |
62 | 55 | -7 | ECPH | Edinburgh | 400 | 400 | 0 | iCabbi |
66 | 70 | 4 | Abba Cars | Warrington | 380 | 330 | 50 | Cordic |
67 | 92 | 25 | Roadrunners | Gatwick | 375 | 250 | 125 | iCabbi |
67 | 33 | -34 | TOA Taxis | Birmingham | 375 | 500 | -125 | Cordic |
69 | 101 | 32 | Albatross Cars | Derby | 370 | 370 | 0 | Autocab |
69 | N/a | ComCab Liverpool | Liverpool | 370 | 370 | 0 | N/A | |
71 | 62 | -9 | Streamline Taxis | Brighton | 365 | 365 | 0 | Sherlock |
71 | 62 | -9 | Southside Radio Cars | Glasgow | 365 | 365 | 0 | iCabbi |
73 | 71 | -2 | A1 Minicabs | Romford | 350 | 325 | 25 | Own |
73 | 64 | -9 | Central Cars | Nottingham | 350 | 350 | 0 | Autocab |
73 | N/a | Kelvin Kabs | East Kilbride | 350 | 350 | 350 | Autocab | |
73 | 64 | -9 | Tele Taxis | Dundee | 350 | 350 | 0 | Auriga |
77 | 85 | 7 | Magnum Whiteline Taxis | Manchester | 330 | 280 | 50 | Autocab |
77 | N/a | Elton Bullitt | Bury | 330 | 330 | 0 | N/A | |
79 | 71 | -9 | 001 Taxis | Oxford | 325 | 325 | 0 | iCabbi |
79 | 71 | -9 | Brighton and Hove Radio Cabs | Brighton | 325 | 325 | 0 | iCabbi |
81 | 78 | -2 | Data Cars | London | 325 | 300 | 25 | iCabbi |
82 | 75 | -8 | Premier Cars | Leeds | 320 | 330 | -10 | Autocab |
83 | N/a | Huddersfield Taxis | Huddersfield | 310 | 310 | 310 | N/A | |
83 | 76 | -8 | Mantax Cars | Manchester | 310 | 310 | 0 | MT Data |
85 | 64 | -22 | Nottingham Cars | Nottingham | 300 | 370 | -70 | Autocab |
85 | 78 | -8 | ABC Cars | Wolverhampton | 300 | 300 | 0 | Autocab |
85 | 78 | -8 | City Cabs | Leeds | 300 | 300 | 0 | Other |
85 | 78 | -8 | Manchester Cars | Manchester | 300 | 300 | 0 | Autocab |
85 | 78 | -8 | Taxi First | Plymouth | 300 | 300 | 0 | Autocab |
90 | 84 | -7 | Alpha Cars | Crawley | 290 | 290 | 0 | Autocab |
91 | 76 | -16 | Ambassador Cars | Birmingham | 280 | 250 | 30 | Autocab |
91 | 104 | 12 | Heritage Cars | Birmingham | 280 | 280 | 0 | Autocab |
91 | 90 | -2 | Phoenix Cars | Blyth | 280 | 280 | 0 | Autocab |
94 | 86 | -9 | Station Cars | Purley | 275 | 275 | 0 | Cordic |
94 | 86 | -9 | Bounds Taxis | Northampton | 275 | 275 | 0 | iCabbi |
94 | 86 | -9 | Fairway & Kenwood Taxis | London | 275 | 275 | 0 | Cordic |
94 | 92 | -3 | SRC Taxis | Liverpool | 275 | 263 | 12 | Autocab |
98 | 89 | -10 | Advance Cars | London | 270 | 270 | 0 | Cordic |
99 | 92 | -8 | Capital Cabs | Cardiff | 260 | 260 | 0 | Autocab |
99 | 103 | 3 | Hawk Express Cabs | Ipswich | 260 | 260 | 0 | Autocab |
1 | TOTAL | 58,897 | 57,776 | 2,206 |
BUBBLING UNDER – THE NEXT 25 COMPANIES
The price of entry to the ProDriver 100 has settled down – and actually fell slightly from a fleet of 270 private hire vehicles to get into the main table to 260. Six of the companies in the 10 places below the main chart are companies that last year featured in the big league, but have this year experienced relegation Some have suffered a decline in fleet size, but others have simply been overtaken by new entrants.
And some of those companies that were knocking on the door of the ProDriver 100 last year now find themselves further away from the big league – a small decrease in fleet, perhaps though “right-sizing”, can result in a drop of 10 places or more in this volatile environment.
For companies that are all part of the “200-plus Club” – it wouldn’t take much – some organic growth, or perhaps a local takeover – for any of them to make the table in future.
Below 200 cars it becomes more difficult to keep tabs on operators. There are many hundreds of such operators in the UK – TfL estimates 115 operators above 101 cars in London alone.
RANK 19 | RANK 18 | MOVE 19-18 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
101 | 104 | 2 | Club Taxis | Leicester | 258 | 265 | -7 |
102 | 91 | -12 | Apple Taxis | Exeter | 255 | 340 | -85 |
103 | 92 | -12 | Alphabet Cars | London | 250 | 250 | 0 |
103 | 104 | 0 | Amber Cars London | London | 250 | 250 | 0 |
103 | 92 | -12 | United Maxis Taxis | Wishaw | 250 | 250 | 0 |
103 | 92 | -12 | Premier Taxis | Cardiff | 250 | 270 | -20 |
103 | 92 | -12 | Apple Central Taxis | Weston-Super-Mare | 250 | 330 | -80 |
108 | 101 | -8 | City Cabs | Londonderry | 240 | 240 | 0 |
109 | 121 | 11 | A2B Euro Cars | Peterborough | 235 | 235 | 0 |
110 | 55 | -56 | 35 Taxis | Hull | 230 | 400 | -170 |
111 | 104 | -8 | A1 Cabco Ltd | Cambridge | 225 | 225 | 0 |
111 | 104 | -8 | Road Runner Minicabs | Croydon | 225 | 225 | 0 |
113 | 110 | -4 | Cannon Cars Limited | Bromley | 215 | 215 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | The Taxi Company | Londonderry | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | Station Taxis | Sunderland | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | Diamond Cars | Telford | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | Goodwins Olympic | Manchester | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | Greyhound Cars | London | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | Inverclyde Taxis | Glasgow | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 113 | -2 | Kingsway Cars | Manchester | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | 121 | 6 | Andicars | Havant | 200 | 200 | 0 |
114 | New | ComCab Aberdeen | Aberdeen | 200 | 200 | 0 | |
114 | New | Need a Cab | Plymouth | 200 | 200 | 0 | |
124 | 110 | -15 | Links Taxis | Grimsby | 190 | 215 | -25 |
125 | 120 | -6 | Torbay Taxis | Torquay | 185 | 185 | 0 |
INDUSTRY ON THE UP FOR FIVE YEARS
The ProDriver 100 has now been running since 2015, allowing us for the first time to put together a five-year trend tracker of key performance indicators in the table.
The results of the 2015 survey, as a first attempt at drawing together such a major research project, understated the size of the market – we were only able to capture information about companies we knew- and the fragmentary, regional nature of the private hire and taxi sector meant some substantial regional players were simply under the radar.
But from 2016, the overall picture is pretty accurate. We continue to pick up hitherto undiscovered companies, but the effect or adding them in at the expense of the lowest-ranked firms is negligible in the big picture.
And we can see that in the three years since 2016, the overall combined fleet of vehicles operated by the top 100 companies has grown by almost 8,000. An impressive upsurge, in a market that is heavily disrupted by ride-hailing companies, and has had to operate in a difficult economy. These negative factors are perhaps starting to bite now – growth has slowed significantly compared to previous years.
The top 10 companies account for a disproportionately high proportion of the overall fleet – and the top 10 would be bigger if disparate activities that fall under the same corporate umbrella were combined. Only one of Veezu’s operations make the top 10, while Addison Lee’s Tristar subsidiary is listed separately. Only the London part of ComCab makes the top 10 too. If all the elements of these three groups were included, the top 10 figure would grow to 20,030 vehicles.
The entry points for the ProDriver 100, as well as for the Top20 and Top 10 are interesting to note. Following three years of steady growth, these numbers appear to have hit a plateau, with the fleet size required to react number 100 and number 10 both actually falling this year.
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combined ProDriver 100 fleet | 39,704 | 50,991 | 53,198 | 58,208 | 58,897 |
ProDriver 100 year-on-year growth | n/a | 13.04% | 3.57% | 6.28% | 1.94% |
Average ProDriver 100 fleet size | 397 | 510 | 531 | 582 | 589 |
Combined Top 10 company fleets | 13,330 | 14,775 | 15,010 | 17,000 | 16,990 |
Average Top 10 fleet size | 1,333 | 1,477 | 1,501 | 1,700 | 1,699 |
Entry Point for Top 10 | 650 | 850 | 850 | 925 | 915 |
Entry Point for Top 20 | 500 | 625 | 720 | 715 | 750 |
Entry Point for Top 100 | 150 | 209 | 235 | 270 | 260 |
BANDS OF 10 BY SIZE
Dividing the ProDriver 100 into bands of 10 gives an indication of where the biggest growth is taking place.
The top 10 remains stable, accounting for 28.85% of the total ProDriver 100 fleet, down slightly on 2018’s 29.21%. Among the leading companies some have added cars while others have contracted, resulting in a static picture, with growth of just 0.15%, well below the overall average of 1.94%. The 11-20 bracket is also at a similar level to 2018.
But lower down, between 21 and 40, we see mid-sized companies outperforming the market, with largely organic growth of between 8% and 9%. These are the strongest numbers in 2019.
Lower down the list, between 41 and 80, growth has slowed significantly. In 2018, we saw growth of just under 18% for the 51-60 band and 11% for the 61-70 band; this year the figures are just 2.26% and 0.91% respectively. Below that level, growth appears to slow, and between 81 and 90, as in 2018, growth slips into negative.
The final band of 10 is bound to show growth as growing companies enter the table in place of those in decline. But it is perhaps telling that the entry point for the ProDriver 100, which increased steadily from 200 to 270 in 2018, actually fell in 2019 to 260.
Band | 2019 | 2018 | 19-18 | % CHG | % OF TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01-10 | 16,990 | 16,965 | 25 | 0.15% | 28.85% |
11-20 | 7,975 | 7,857 | 118 | 1.50% | 13.54% |
21-30 | 6,549 | 6,130 | 419 | 6.84% | 11.12% |
31-40 | 5,326 | 5,031 | 295 | 5.86% | 9.04% |
41-50 | 4,667 | 4,595 | 72 | 1.57% | 7.92% |
51-60 | 4,290 | 4,195 | 95 | 2.26% | 7.28% |
61-70 | 3,875 | 3,840 | 35 | 0.91% | 6.58% |
71-80 | 3,440 | 3,340 | 100 | 2.99% | 5.84% |
81-90 | 3,055 | 3,135 | -80 | -2.55% | 5.19% |
91-100 | 2,730 | 2,688 | 42 | 1.56% | 4.64% |
58,897 | 57,776 | 1,121 | 1.94% | 100.00% |
EXECUTIVE CHAUFFEURING LEADERS
It’s hard to get a handle on the chauffeur sector – many of the mid-sized companies are rather discreet, and are rather shy in coming forward with data.
The leading companies fall into two categories – companies that are specialist chauffeur firms, offering only premium and business services, or larger private hire fleets that operate a premium service too – often quite a large fleet.
Tristar Worldwide remains the leader in the sector, and the transfer of Addison Lee’s entire 500-strong executive fleet to Tristar in 2018 bolstered the specialist brand’s fleet to more than 1,000 cars.
Most of the operators are in London – the only interlopers in the table from outside the capital are divisions of large private hire fleets, including three Veezu subsidiaries in Leeds, Cardiff and, in particular, Birmingham, where it has 300 cars of Mercedes E-Class or equivalent..
London is still the main market for chauffeuring on an industrial scale – other operators such as Carey and Crawfords are outside the ProDriver 100, though they remain substantial chauffeur firms. Likewise, Parker Car Service, the third largest London private hire fleet with 625 cars, has an executive fleet of around 150 vehicles.
Rank | PD100 rank | Company | City | Exec fleet ’19 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | Tristar | West Drayton | 950 |
2 | 21 | A2B Radio Cars | Birmingham | 300 |
3 | 48 | Royal Cars | Stockton-On-Tees | 275 |
4 | 28 | Brunel | London | 200 |
4 | 114 | Carey Group | London | 200 |
6 | n/a | Sovereign London | London | 180 |
7 | n/a | Excel Executive | London | 150 |
7 | 28 | Greentomato Cars | London | 150 |
7 | 48 | iRide London | London | 150 |
7 | 25 | Parker Car Service | London | 150 |
11 | n/a | Driven Worldwide | London | 137 |
12 | n/a | Crawfords | London | 125 |
13 | n/a | We Know Group | London | 120 |
13 | 48 | Dean Taxis | Gateshead | 120 |
15 | 11 | Amber Cars | Leeds | 100 |
15 | 18 | Arrow Cars | Leeds | 100 |
15 | 12 | Dragon Taxis | Cardiff | 100 |
15 | 24 | Panther Taxis Ltd | Cambridge | 100 |
15 | 15 | Street Cars | Manchester | 100 |
15 | 52 | TC Cars | Birmingham | 100 |
REGIONAL GROWTH
The best-performing big private hire and taxi fleets are in the North-west and South-east outside London. Both these areas, together with the small number of ProDriver 100 companies in Wales and South-west England, considerably outperformed the national average fleet size growth rate of 1.94%.
Northern Ireland and Scotland, which grew strongly between 2017 and 2018, appear to have reached a plateau, with no reported growth in either area. South-east England appears to be the most volatile region, reporting strong growth in 2016-17, a decline in 2017-18 and strong growth of 5.8% this year.
In the North-west, fleet size is increasing most strongly. The past 12 months has seen growth of 8.62% on average, driven by strong and growing operators on Merseyside and in Greater Manchester. But the North-East and Yorkshire cannot match this, while across the Midlands, the overall combined fleet of the biggest operators actually fell.
Evidence of the disruption in London is clear. In addition to the ongoing struggles with ride-hailing companies such as Uber, operators have been hit by punitive licence rises from TfL, which is causing serious damage to the market, especially among smaller operators. The big fleets are holding steady, but the overall London fleet fell by more than 1%.
Region | 2019 | 2018 | 19-18 CHG | % GROWTH |
---|---|---|---|---|
North-west | 11,405 | 10,500 | 905 | 8.62% |
South-east | 6,681 | 6,315 | 366 | 5.80% |
Wales & South-west | 2,460 | 2,360 | 100 | 4.24% |
North-east | 9,130 | 9,020 | 110 | 1.22% |
Northern Ireland | 1,725 | 1,725 | 0 | 0.00% |
Scotland | 4,920 | 4,920 | 0 | 0.00% |
London | 13,555 | 13,705 | -150 | -1.07% |
Midlands | 9,021 | 9,231 | -210 | -2.27% |
58,897 | 57,776 | 1,121 | 1.94% |
REGIONAL BREAKDOWN – NORTHERN ENGLAND REPRESENTS MORE THAN 50% OF TOTAL FLEET
Of the 100 companies included in the ProDriver 100, 86 are English, 10 are Scottish, two are based in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
The number of ProDriver 100 companies headquartered inside the M25 continues to fall. In 2017 there were 19; last year 18 and now 17. The 31 operators in London and the south-east run more than one-third of the total car fleet, a proportion inflated by the biggest London fleets.
There are 53 major fleets of 270 cars or more in the Midlands and North of England, with major concentrations in big cities. Those 51 fleets operate just over 50% of the total fleet.
Of particular note is Merseyside, where the biggest operators are very large indeed, and mergers are making the big bigger. The leading four operators around Liverpool and the Wirral operate more cars than the 10 biggest in Greater Manchester, where ownership is more fragmented and average fleet size is smaller.
The West Midlands has seen some aggressive local growth – the top 13 firms in the region have overtaken their Mancunian counterparts, and operate a combined 6,401 cars.
Region | Total Cars | Operators ’19 | Operators ’18 |
---|---|---|---|
London | 13,555 | 17 | 18 |
South-East | 6,681 | 14 | 12 |
London & South-east total | 20,236 | 32 | 30 |
Yorkshire | 4,960 | 7 | 8 |
North-East | 4,170 | 8 | 8 |
North-east region total | 9,130 | 15 | 16 |
Greater Manchester | 4,995 | 11 | 10 |
Merseyside | 5,975 | 7 | 4 |
North-West | 435 | 1 | 3 |
North-west region total | 11,405 | 19 | 17 |
West Midlands | 6,401 | 13 | 11 |
East Midlands | 2,045 | 5 | 5 |
North Midlands | 575 | 1 | 2 |
Midlands region total | 9,021 | 19 | 18 |
South-West | 1,350 | 2 | 4 |
Wales | 1,110 | 2 | 2 |
South-west/Wales total | 2,460 | 4 | 6 |
Scotland | 4,920 | 10 | 10 |
Northern Ireland | 1,725 | 2 | 3 |
58,897 | 100 |
GREATER LONDON
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Addison Lee | London | 3,750 | 4,300 | -550 |
2 | 2 | ComCab / Dial a Cab London | London | 2,700 | 2,500 | 200 |
3 | 8 | Tristar | West Drayton | 950 | 1,025 | -75 |
4 | 25 | Parker Car Service | Isleworth | 660 | 660 | 0 |
5 | 28 | Brunel | London | 600 | 400 | 200 |
5 | 28 | Green Tomato Cars | London | 600 | 600 | 0 |
7 | 35 | The Keen Group | London | 540 | 500 | 40 |
8 | 38 | Goldline Car Services | London | 510 | 510 | 0 |
9 | 39 | Skyex | Hayes | 500 | 515 | -15 |
10 | 48 | iRide London | London | 450 | 450 | 0 |
11 | 62 | Atlas Cars | London | 400 | 400 | 0 |
11 | 62 | Abbey Cars | Feltham | 400 | 400 | 0 |
13 | 73 | A1 Minicabs | Romford | 350 | 325 | 25 |
15 | 80 | Data Cars | London | 325 | 300 | 25 |
16 | 95 | Station Cars | Purley | 275 | 275 | 0 |
16 | 95 | Fairway & Kenwood Taxis | London | 275 | 275 | 0 |
18 | 99 | Advance Cars | London | 270 | 270 | 0 |
TOTAL | 13,555 | 13,705 | -150 |
SOUTH EAST
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 | Aqua Cars | Portsmouth | 750 | 725 | 25 |
2 | 22 | Speedline Taxi Ltd | Milton Keynes | 715 | 715 | 0 |
3 | 23 | Skyline Taxis | Milton Keynes | 700 | 500 | 200 |
4 | 24 | Panther Taxis Ltd | Cambridge | 679 | 660 | 19 |
5 | 28 | Southern Taxis | Saltdean | 600 | 600 | 0 |
6 | 44 | Royal Cars | Oxford | 472 | 475 | (3) |
7 | 59 | Radio Taxis | Southampton | 420 | 415 | 5 |
8 | 61 | Go Cars | Luton | 405 | 410 | (5) |
9 | 67 | Roadrunners | Gatwick | 375 | 250 | 125 |
10 | 71 | Streamline Taxis | Brighton | 365 | 365 | 0 |
11 | 80 | 001 Taxis | Oxford | 325 | 325 | 0 |
11 | 80 | Brighton and Hove Radio Cabs | Brighton | 325 | 325 | 0 |
13 | 91 | Alpha Cars | Crawley | 290 | 290 | 0 |
14 | 100 | Hawk Express Cabs | Ipswich | 260 | 260 | 0 |
TOTAL | 6,681 | 6,315 | 366 |
WALES & SOUTH WEST
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | V-Cars | Bristol | 1,050 | 950 | 100 |
2 | 12 | Dragon Taxis | Cardiff | 850 | 850 | 0 |
3 | 86 | Taxi First | Plymouth | 300 | 300 | 0 |
4 | 100 | Capital Cabs | Cardiff | 260 | 260 | 0 |
TOTAL | 2,460 | 2,360 | 100 |
MIDLANDS
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Go Carz | Shrewsbury | 1,200 | 1,200 | 0 |
2 | 18 | DG Taxis | Nottingham | 750 | 950 | -200 |
3 | 21 | A2B Radio Cars | Solihull | 720 | 720 | 0 |
4 | 31 | King Kabs | Chester | 575 | 420 | 155 |
5 | 32 | Lucky 7 Private Hire | Stoke-On-Trent | 556 | 556 | 0 |
6 | 39 | Central Taxis | Coventry | 500 | 500 | 0 |
7 | 47 | Castle Cars | Birmingham | 460 | 460 | 0 |
8 | 48 | 247 Radio Cars | Birmingham | 450 | 450 | 0 |
9 | 52 | TC Cars | Birmingham | 435 | 435 | 0 |
10 | 55 | AK Manor | Birmingham | 425 | 425 | 0 |
11 | 59 | Star Cars | Birmingham | 420 | 420 | 0 |
12 | 67 | TOA Taxis | Birmingham | 375 | 500 | -125 |
13 | 69 | Albatross Cars | Derby | 370 | 370 | 0 |
14 | 73 | Central Cars | Nottingham | 350 | 350 | 0 |
15 | 86 | ABC Cars | Wolverhampton | 300 | 300 | 0 |
15 | 86 | Nottingham Cars | Nottingham | 300 | 370 | -70 |
17 | 92 | Ambassador Cars | Birmingham | 280 | 250 | 30 |
17 | 92 | Heritage Cars | Birmingham | 280 | 280 | 0 |
19 | 95 | Bounds Taxis | Northampton | 275 | 275 | 0 |
TOTAL | 9,021 | 9,231 | -210 |
NORTH EAST
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | City Taxis | Sheffield | 1,950 | 1,950 | 0 |
2 | 10 | Boro Taxis | Middlesbrough | 915 | 915 | 0 |
3 | 11 | Amber Cars Leeds | Leeds | 900 | 850 | 50 |
4 | 18 | Arrow Cars | Leeds | 750 | 750 | 0 |
5 | 26 | Blueline Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 650 | 650 | 0 |
6 | 37 | Noda Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 520 | 520 | 0 |
7 | 42 | Budget Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 480 | 410 | 70 |
8 | 48 | Royal Cars | Stockton-On-Tees | 450 | 465 | -15 |
8 | 48 | Dean Taxis | Gateshead | 450 | 430 | 20 |
10 | 54 | Wheels Private Hire | Leeds | 430 | 430 | 0 |
11 | 55 | LA Taxis | Newcastle-Upon-Tyne | 425 | 430 | -5 |
12 | 83 | Premier Cars | Leeds | 320 | 330 | -10 |
13 | 84 | Huddersfield Taxis | Huddersfield | 310 | 310 | 0 |
14 | 86 | City Cabs | Leeds | 300 | 300 | 0 |
15 | 92 | Phoenix Cars | Blyth | 280 | 280 | 0 |
TOTAL | 9,130 | 9,020 | 110 |
NORTH WEST
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Delta Taxis | Bootle | 2,200 | 2,100 | 100 |
2 | 5 | Alpha Taxis | Liverpool | 1,350 | 1,100 | 250 |
3 | 15 | Street Cars | Manchester | 775 | 607 | 168 |
3 | 15 | Argyle Satellite | Birkenhead | 775 | 700 | 75 |
5 | 27 | Britannia Taxis | Liverpool | 625 | 625 | 0 |
6 | 33 | Club Cars | Wythenshawe | 550 | 650 | -100 |
6 | 33 | Mainline Sevens | Salford | 550 | 550 | 0 |
8 | 36 | Metro Taxis | Bolton | 525 | 525 | 0 |
9 | 39 | Lynx Taxis | Stockport | 500 | 300 | 200 |
10 | 52 | Max Cabs | Accrington | 435 | 325 | 110 |
11 | 55 | Cresta Cars | Manchester | 425 | 425 | 0 |
12 | 62 | Metro Taxis | Stockport | 400 | 410 | -10 |
13 | 66 | Abba Cars | Warrington | 380 | 330 | 50 |
14 | 69 | ComCab Liverpool | Liverpool | 370 | 370 | |
15 | 78 | Magnum Whiteline Taxis | Manchester | 330 | 280 | 50 |
15 | 78 | Elton Bullitt | Bury | 330 | 330 | |
17 | 84 | Mantax Cars | Manchester | 310 | 310 | 0 |
18 | 86 | Manchester Cars | Manchester | 300 | 300 | 0 |
19 | 95 | SRC Taxis | Liverpool | 275 | 263 | 12 |
TOTAL | 11,405 | 10,500 | 905 |
SCOTLAND
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | Glasgow Taxis | Glasgow | 850 | 850 | 0 |
2 | 15 | Network Private Hire | Glasgow | 775 | 775 | 0 |
3 | 43 | City Cabs | Edinburgh | 475 | 475 | 0 |
4 | 45 | Capital Cars | Edinburgh | 465 | 465 | 0 |
5 | 45 | Central Radio Taxis | Edinburgh | 465 | 465 | 0 |
6 | 55 | Rainbow City Taxis | Aberdeen | 425 | 425 | 0 |
7 | 62 | ECPH | Edinburgh | 400 | 400 | 0 |
8 | 71 | Southside Radio Cars | Glasgow | 365 | 365 | 0 |
9 | 73 | Kelvin Kabs | East Kilbride | 350 | 350 | 0 |
10 | 73 | Tele Taxis | Dundee | 350 | 350 | 0 |
TOTAL | 4,920 | 4,920 | 0 |
NORHERN IRELAND
RANK | PD100 | COMPANY | CITY | 19 FLEET | 18 FLEET | CHG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Fonacab | Belfast | 925 | 925 | 0 |
2 | 14 | Value Cabs | Belfast | 800 | 800 | 0 |
TOTAL | 1,725 | 1,725 | 0 |
DISCLAIMER
Professional Driver has endeavoured to ensure that the data in this survey is correct and accurate, and all steps have been taken to achieve this. However, it is possible that some fleet sizes may have changed, or some companies may have been omitted due to a lack of available information. If you believe your company should be included in the ProDriver 100, please contact us via email – editor@prodrivermags.com.