Buyout marks ‘pivotal milestone’ for South Yorkshire’s City Taxis

South Yorkshire taxi firm City Taxis has undergone a management buyout.

The deal will enable certain founding shareholders to step away from the company as MD Arnie Singh, together with his team, spearheads the firm’s next stage of development.

City Taxis has carried out multiple acquisitions across and beyond the Sheffield City Region in the last four years, expanding its presence into Barnsley, Rotherham, Chesterfield and Derby.

Today, the company operates a fleet of 1,750 vehicles and averages more than 130,000 journeys every week, making City Taxis one of the UK’s largest independent taxi businesses.

Managing director Arnie said of the buyout: “I am very grateful to the outgoing shareholders. Without their hard work and foresight, particularly in the early days, we certainly wouldn’t be where we are today.

“We have invested heavily, particularly in technology through our App which is widely used by our customers. The industry is constantly evolving, and we have the foundation of a solid infrastructure with which to continue developing our product and service offering.”

Tim Brind and John Warner, of Yorkshire firm BHP Corporate Finance, advised on the deal.

Andrew Marsh, Neil Bradburne and Ben Carver at Barclays Bank provided funding for the transaction, while a team led by Ben Hendry and Luke Chapman of law firm CMS provided legal advice.

BHP Corporate Finance’s Tim Brind commented: “City Taxis is a genuine success story for the Sheffield City Region.

“It has been a pleasure to help and support them in making this next step and I look forward to seeing the business continue to progress.”

Barclays relationship director for South Yorkshire, Neil Bradburne, said the deal marks “a pivotal milestone” in City Taxis’ growth aspirations, adding: “We look forward to seeing the business go from strength to strength as Arnie and his team continue to develop new products and services and increase their customer base throughout South Yorkshire.”

The header image shows L-R: Luke Chapman (CMS), Ben Carver (Barclays), Neil Bradburne (Barclays), Tim Brind (BHP), Arnie Singh (City Taxis), Ben Hendry (CMS) and John Warner (BHP).