Daimler’s mytaxi picks up Hailo cab service

BLACK cabs bearing the yellow livery of Hailo are to be repainted after Daimler took a majority stake in the British cab-hailing app.

Hailo, which allows customers to order a taxi directly from their smartphone, has merged with mytaxi, an equivalent service run by the German car giant, which will see Daimler take a 60pc stake in the combined group. As part of the deal, Hailo – a British technology start-up that has attracted more than $100m (£75m) in funding from investors including Sir Richard Branson – will rebrand as mytaxi next year and move its headquarters to Hamburg.

The merger comes months after Hailo warned that it was running out of funds after heavy losses and a doomed venture into North America. The company, which operates largely in the UK, Ireland and Spain, was on the lookout for funds when it was approached by mytaxi, which covers much of the rest of Europe.

Daimler said that, combined, the two would become the biggest taxi hailing company in Europe, present in 50 cities with 70 million users and 100,000 drivers. Hailo boss Andrew Pinnington, a former Carphone Warehouse executive, will take charge of mytaxi. Taxi apps are racing to grow as they try to compete with American rival Uber.