Taxi Driver Online

Taxi tycoon Stevie Malcolm’s motors torched in targeted blaze attack amid claims his recruitment drive sparked cab war

TAXI tycoon Stevie Malcolm’s motors were burnt out in a targeted attack after he wooed drivers from rival firms, insiders revealed last night. At least four Mercedes minivans were wrecked as a fresh cab war ignited over the £50million tycoon’s recruitment drive. And Malcolm, 53 — nicknamed ‘The Fat Controller’ — was left counting the cost of the blaze at his Penny Cars HQ in Airdrie, believed to total £150,000.

A source said: “Stevie’s been offering cabbies deals nobody else can match to come and work for him. “He’s bought advertising boards in Airdrie and Coatbridge — big signs saying ‘Drivers wanted’. At least 100 cars have moved to him over the last eight months. “That’s worth about £26,000 a week in fees from drivers.”

The scorched silver Mercs were visible in the firm’s compound last night following the fire shortly after midnight yesterday. They were parked in a corner behind gleaming models. The insider added: “There’s about £150,000 worth of damage.”

Penny Cars boss Malcolm snapped up Key-Cars earlier this year — a firm with close links to Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel, nephew of dead crime kingpin Jamie Daniel. Bonzo, 37, was slashed and scarred for life in a horror attack in a Key-Cars Skoda in May following a high-speed chase from Possil, Glasgow. His facial injuries were so catastrophic, cops initially feared he had been shot.

It was the latest clash in a tit-for-tat war between the rival Daniel and Lyons clans that has raged for more than a decade. Malcolm also has an interest in Glasgow Private Hire, Paisley Cab Co and Edinburgh City Private Hire.

The golf-mad tycoon built a £9million mansion overlooking the Queen’s Course at plush Gleneagles, Perthshire, in 2008. But he filed a £6million insurance claim last year when a 100,000 litre, 50ft fish tank exploded and swamped the kitchen, electrics and decor. In 2010, he was revealed as the £4,000-a-month landlord of disgraced businessman Barry Hughes in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire.

Cops probing the fire said they were called at 12.15am on Saturday. They said: “There were a number of cars found to be on fire. The incident is being treated as wilful.”

When called by The Scottish Sun on Sunday, a Penny Cars employee replied: “I’m sorry, we’ve got no comment,” before hanging up.

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IDFIMH

We have non of that nonsense here, in fact we help each other out.

Perhaps the firms should ask themselves why drivers are leaving to work for a rival ?
Provide the right package and you'll have drivers queing up, treat them like sh*t and , well..

perhaps because of this,,,,,

Malcolm, who owns a string of private hire firms, said he had been warned by Police Scotland two months ago that his business was in danger of being targeted.

Sources said the businessman had upset rival firms by offering their drivers one-off payments of up to £1000 to work for him.

this was omitted from the story posted

story here

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... h-10979719

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

Why not employ the drivers, or is that to easy

I suspect a long history of non taxi stuff is behind all this nastiness.

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IDFIMH

Like the substances that make you do silly things??