Uber and rival Ola circling London minicab giant Addison Lee

US-based Uber and the Indian ride hailing giant Ola were among some of the parties involved in discussions for the the buyout of Carlyle, which owns the London-based operator.

In Uber's case, it has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Carlyle and met members of Addison Lee's management team in recent weeks, said the report.

For both Uber and Ola, a takeover of Addison Lee would add to their share of the lucrative and growing private-hire market.

Addison Lee has 5,000 operating cars in London, and holds around a 10% share of the capital's minicab market.

In its results for the year ended August 2018, Addison Lee posted a 13% increase in revenues but recorded pre-tax losses of almost £39m, up from £20.8m a year earlier.