Bolt: Uber rival’s profit almost wiped out as legal battles drag on
Profit at the UK arm of Uber rival Bolt was almost wiped out during its latest financial year as it diverted considerable resources to its on-going legal battles.
The online taxi firm has reported a pre-tax profit of £133,355 for 2024, down from the £8.2m it achieved in 2023.
The business had previously made a pre-tax loss of £47.6m in 2022.
New accounts filed with Companies House also Bolt’s turnover decreased in 2024 from £520m to £488.1m.
Bolt said its turnover before incentives and VAT under the scope of the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme (TOMS) had actually increased by £50.8m because of a rise in accepted bookings and average prices.
However, its headline turnover fell by £31.8m because of a higher level of demand incentives used in the year – £49.1m – and a one-off VAT credit.
Bolt added that there had been an increase in transportation service costs by £25.6m while legal provision costs rose by £50.5m in the year.
Bolt battling long-running court cases
The company said a “significant portion” of its focus was dedicated to managing ongoing legal proceedings in 2024, “given their potential impact on future strategic direction and business decisions”.
A case relating to the worker status of Bolt’s drivers was heard by the Employment Tribunal in September 2024.
Bolt said: “Significant time was spent on the worker status hearing, both assessing routes forwards strategically and also preparing documentation for the legal team and external counsel representatives.
“The opportunity/cost of the time invested into court preparations reduced the amount of initiatives possible across the UK operations business.”
A decision was handed down in November 2024 which found that Bolt drivers should be recognised as workers.
A financial liability remedy hearing is scheduled to take place during the second quarter of 2026.
A month later, Bolt filed an appeal against the Employment Tribunal judgement and is waiting to hear back whether that can proceed.
Bolt said: “Following the December 2023 judgement ruling that Bolt’s services fall in the scope of the TOMS, confidence to invest in the UK market increased.
“Investment was deployed across both rider and driver incentives at a higher level in 2024 than in 2023.”
In March this year, the company was told that the Upper Tax Tribunal rejected HMRC’s appeal to block Bolt from using TOMS.
But before that decision was made, Bolt sent a stern warning to Chancellor Rachel Reeves over government inaction on a possible 20 per cent VAT hike for taxi firms.
The company wrote to the Chancellor warning it has withheld £200m of investment in the UK over the last three years as ministers dither over the so-called “taxi tax“.
HMRC has been given permission to appeal the TOMS ruling.
Bolt is headquartered in Estonia and was founded in 2013 by Markus Villig.
In May, the UK arm appointed a new UK boss in a sign of its intention to double down on its second biggest market.
Kimberly Hurd joined as the company’s first senior general manager for the UK, following stints in the fintech sector and at the Indian food delivery app Zomato.
Uber reveals UK profit concern
The results for Bolt come after City PM reported at the start of this month that Uber had warned it may not remain profitable in the UK because of rising costs despite its revenue surging by more than £1bn during its latest financial year.
The US giant has said it will need to generate and sustain increased revenue levels while lowering proportionate expenses in the coming years “to achieve profitability in many of our largest markets”.
Uber added that even if it did so, “we may not be able to maintain or increase profitability”.
The warning, highlighted in bold, was included in the firm’s latest financial accounts for 2024 which show its revenue jumped from £5.2bn to £6.5bn.
However the results, filed with Companies House, also confirm that Uber’s pre-tax profit in the UK declined from £29.3m to £21.6m over the same period.