Bolt: Uber rival doubles UK sales as it surges into the black
The UK arm of online taxi firm Bolt more than doubled its turnover as it surged into the black, it has been revealed.
The company has reported a turnover of £520m for 2023, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, up from £237.8m.
It has also posted a pre-tax profit of £8.2m for the 12 months, having made a pre-tax loss of £47.6m in 2022.
The last time the division, which is based in London, made a pre-tax profit was the £540,671 it achieved in 2021. Its turnover in that year stood at £14.3m.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The potential impact of the VAT charges and worker status risks on our operating margin dominated 2023’s focus with a reduced level of investment in order and driver incentives as compared to 2022.”
It added: “The increase in revenue is due to the impact of the changes in the business model since August 2022 when the company started acting as principal and recognised revenue on [a] gross basis.
“Prior to the business model change the turnover was derived from recharge of expenses and associated fees.”
Bolt is headquartered in Estonia and was founded in 2013 by Markus Villig.
The wider group reported a revenue of €1.7bn for 2023, up 37.4 per cent, while its net loss widened from €72.2m to €91.9m.
Its operating loss was cut in the year from €262.6m to €94.3m.
In May this year, Bolt secured secured a €220m credit facility as it plans to go public next year.
Its lenders include Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.