Europe's largest private mini cab company has appointed a new CEO to help it take on Uber

The board of private taxi service Addison Lee (AL) has appointed a new CEO as it looks to take on Uber.

The London-headquartered company, which has been losing business to Uber ever since the San Francisco taxi giant expanded to London, revealed that current CFO, Andy Boland, will take over from CEO Liam Griffin, who is being made vice chairman.

AL, founded in 1975, said the changes will allow it to continue delivering national and international growth and continue providing high-quality services to its clients.

"The private hire industry is one of the most exciting and fast moving markets in business at present," said Boland, who joined AL earlier this year from the AA.

"For many years AL has set the standards in terms of safety, reliability and value, and I'm excited about working with our customers, employees and drivers to ensure that the business continues to grow. We have a great team at AL and I look forward to working in close partnership with Liam Griffin and the rest of the board to deliver our future success."

Griffin, who has worked at AL for 20 years, said: "It has been a pleasure to serve as AL's CEO and I am grateful to all of the company's staff and drivers for everything that they have done to make it the success that it is today. I continue to be excited about the company's prospects and I look forward to focusing on helping to continue to grow the business and identify targets for acquisition."

AL said Griffin will focus on helping to grow its UK and international business, while pursuing business acquisitions. He remains the company's single biggest personal shareholder.

The AL fleet boasts 4,800 minicabs, while Uber has 15,000 registered drivers.

Uber has been stealing customers away from AL and London's black cab drivers since it arrived in the city two years ago.

Addison Lee laid off 90 people in a restructuring this year. It currently has about 650 employees. Meanwhile, Carlyle, the private equity group that owns AL, reportedly put on hold an £800 million ($1.2 billion) plan to sell the company.