Uber Boat by Thames Clippers returns to profit
The company behind Uber Boat by Thames Clippers in London, returned to profit in 2023, it has been revealed.
Collins River Enterprises has reported a pre-tax profit of £5.4m for the 12 months, having made a pre-tax loss of £4m in 2022.
It is the first time that the business has reported a pre-tax profit since the £1.6m it achieved in 2019.
Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show that the firm’s turnover rose from £36.1m to £42m in the year.
The business said that its increased fleet capacity, which has increased by three since the third quarter of 2023, will help it expand its regular service.
The firm was founded by Sean Collins in 1999 with Alan Woods and was taken over in 2006 by the US-based Anschutz Entertainment Group.
It announced a partnership with Uber in 2020 and rebranded to Uber Boat by Thames Clippers.
In April 2022, Northleaf Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the company from Anschutz Entertainment Group.
During the year, the company being Uber Boat by Thames Clippers continued its diversification into parcel delivery by extending its relationship with DHL – which first started in August 2020.
The DHL logistics operation supports parcels being transported from Heathrow Airport by e-vehicle to Wadsworth, where Thames Clippers vessels picks up and delivers them to Bankside and Wapping piers.
In April 2024, an hourly service from 11am to 4pm servicing Putney, Wadsworth Riverside, Chelsea and Plantation Wharf started, calling in at Central London piers and going as far as North Greenwich Pier, connecting all three operating zones of the network.
At the start of 2024, the company completed a deal with Sodexo for certain marine assets to be acquired.
During 2023, the average number of people employed by the business behind Uber Boat by Thames Clippers rose from 370 to 463.