Before Black Taxi Tour London, I spent over 16 years working for two of the world’s most influential American financial institutions in the City of London.

On paper, I had a successful corporate career. I worked on the trading floor, managing a team of 30 people in a fast-paced and demanding environment. I had built a career I was proud of, with significant responsibility and a position that many would have considered a success. But behind the job title, the responsibility and the office, life was becoming increasingly difficult.

My working days were often over 10 hours, before adding travel time. Overtime was expected on most days, and after having two children, my priorities had changed. I could no longer simply give my entire life to my career. The hardest part was that I didn’t feel in control of my own time.

I was told (not asked) when I needed to work, when I could take holiday, and how much of my time the company needed. I felt overworked, underestimated and undervalued.

Weekends became precious. I was exhausted, and the excitement and sense of progression I had once felt walking into the office had gradually been replaced by anxiety and the constant feeling of working endless hours.

One experience particularly stayed with me. In 2012, a few years before I eventually left, I had requested annual leave for two important family weddings. I had even offered to work remotely so that I could keep up with my responsibilities. My request was refused. As a result, I missed my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding, as well as my niece’s. That was a difficult moment. It made me question what I was actually working for. I had spent years building a career, but I was missing important moments in the lives of the people who mattered most to me.

Eventually, after giving birth to my second daughter, I reached the point where something had to change. I didn’t want to spend the next 20 years being told when I could work, when I could take a holiday, and how much time I could have with my family. I wanted control of my own time. I wanted to be around for my children. And I wanted to build something of my own. Most importantly, I wanted a life where work was part of it, rather than something that consumed it.

That realisation was the beginning of a completely different chapter.

In 2007 Ray and I did something that would have a much bigger impact on our future business than we realised at the time. We went travelling around the world. We became tourists.

We experienced what it was like to arrive in an unfamiliar country, not knowing exactly where to go, how things worked, what was worth seeing, or who we could trust. We understood something that is easy to forget when you live somewhere and know it inside out: Being a tourist can be exciting, but it can also be overwhelming.

You arrive somewhere you’ve never been before. You want to explore. You want to make the most of your limited time. You want to know you’re safe. You want someone who understands what you need without you having to ask. And, perhaps most importantly, you want to feel looked after. That experience changed the way we thought about tourism. We realised that visitors don’t simply need someone to drive them from one landmark to another. They need someone who understands their perspective. Someone who can help them navigate an unfamiliar city. Someone who can answer the questions they didn’t know they needed to ask. Someone who can take the stress away and allow them to relax, explore and enjoy themselves.

Years later, that understanding would become one of our biggest advantages. We had been tourists ourselves, and we wanted to create the kind of experience in London that we would want when visiting somewhere new.

What started with a small group of qualified London cab guides and a simple website gradually grew into something much bigger. Over time, we built a reputation for providing private, personalised London tours, combining the knowledge of a qualified London taxi driver with the experience of a professional tour guide. But we also developed something else. We developed an understanding of what visitors really need.

Our own travels had taught us what it feels like to step into an unknown country. Our experience as parents had taught us the importance of being patient, flexible and present. And my years in the corporate world had given me the organisational and customer-service skills to build a professional business around those principles.

Those experiences became the foundation of the service we offer today. We don’t simply want to show you London. We want you to feel comfortable, safe, welcomed and looked after while you’re here. We want to take away the stress of navigating an unfamiliar city. We want to give you the flexibility to stop for photographs, grab a coffee, take a break, ask questions and change the pace when you need to. We want you to experience London with someone who knows the city, not just from a guidebook, but from years of living, working and driving its streets.

Today, Black Taxi Tour London has delivered over 5,000 private tours and welcomed guests from across the globe. But behind every tour is still the same story.

A City career.
16 years in the corporate world.
A chance meeting over a few drinks.
A London black cab driver called Ray.
A family.
Two parents who wanted to be present for their children.
A journey around the world that taught us what it feels like to be a tourist.
A small group of passionate London cab guides.
And a decision to take a different path.

That decision shaped the business we have today.

When you book a tour with us, we don’t just want you to see London.
We want you to feel looked after.
We want you to feel like you have a local friend showing you around.
We share special parts of London with you that you would never have found on your own.
And, most importantly, we want you to leave London with memories that last long after you’ve gone home.

Because sometimes the biggest changes in life start with simply deciding that there has to be another way.

For us, that decision became Black Taxi Tour London.