PRINCIPAL PARTY: Supreme Court judgment DATE SET in Uber v Delta and Veezu private hire operator case
- Perry Richardson
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 29
The UK Supreme Court is set to hand down judgment on 29 July 2025 in the ongoing legal dispute between Uber Britannia Limited (UBL), D.E.L.T.A Merseyside Limited (DELTA) and Veezu Holdings Limited (VHL).
The case focuses on whether private hire vehicle operators outside London must contract directly with passengers when accepting bookings. The question arises under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, which governs private hire services outside the capital, with the exception of Plymouth.
At the heart of the case is whether a licensed operator accepting a booking is legally required to be the principal party in the contract with the customer.
The issue was originally raised by UBL, which brought a Part 8 claim seeking clarity on the interpretation of the law. The High Court, through Mrs Justice Foster, issued a declaration confirming that an operator must enter into the contract as principal to operate lawfully under the 1976 Act.
That declaration aligned with a similar interpretation made in a previous case concerning private hire operations in London. In Uber London Limited v Transport for London [2021] EWHC 3290 (Admin), the Divisional Court had ruled that operators regulated by the London-specific legislation must also contract directly with passengers.
However, DELTA and VHL challenged the declaration in the Court of Appeal, which overturned the High Court’s ruling in July 2024 ([2024] EWCA Civ 802). UBL then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
The forthcoming Supreme Court ruling will clarify the legal position for operators across much of England and Wales and could have significant implications for how private hire services are structured and delivered outside London.
