In the controlled demolition industry, building implosion is the strategic placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation so that a structure collapses on itself in a matter of seconds, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings. Despite its terminology, building implosion also includes the controlled demolition of other structures, such as , , , and .
The company was founded by John Griffin in 1975.The company operates a fleet of 4,000 vehicles with annual revenues of over £200m. As well as being a private hire operator, Addison Lee also operates a private coach company with a fleet of 100 coaches of various sizes. The company carries out over 20,000 jobs every day.