Gett the latest app to set sights on 2019 stock market offering

Gett are valued at $1.4 billion and anticipate profitability in 2019

Gett are the latest ride-hailing service to set their sights on launching an initial public offering to the markets following in the footsteps of private hire firms Uber and Lyft. The taxi app service which is popular in the UK, but originates from Israel, is one of the few new transport apps to hit the market that anticipates becoming profitable in the near future.

In 2016 the company raised $300m from car manufacturers Volkswagen which is part of more than $700m raised through investment so far. Gett’s current valuation to $1.4bn.

Despite Uber’s much higher expectations to achieve a $120 billion valuation in its own stock market offering they have never made a profit. According to The Times the firm have so far made a loss of $3.3 billion and continue making huge quarterly losses. Gett’s business model is slightly different to its minicab rivals in that journeys are mainly undertaken by established local taxis rather than the private hire vehicles used by apps like Uber and Lyft. Founder and chief executive Dave Waiser told the Financial Times that Gett are considering listing later this year on either the London Stock Exchange or in Israel. He said: “We will see how Lyft goes, we believe there’s a lot of public capital waiting for the (technology) darlings (Uber and Lyft), but we also believe that our business model makes sense,”