British city of Sheffield gives Uber a welcome boost

Earlier this month, local officials in Sheffield said Uber's license had been suspended after it failed to respond to queries. Uber said it had not received the correspondence the council referred to as it had been sent to the wrong address.

Sheffield officials said they had now had "productive discussions" with Uber and are looking into a new license application submitted by the Silicon Valley firm.

"The new application, made by Uber in October, to operate private hire cars in Sheffield is being considered and a decision will be made in early 2018," the council said in a statement.

An Uber spokesman welcomed the move: "We look forward to continuing to serve tens of thousands of riders and drivers in Sheffield," he said.

On Tuesday, the city of York refused to renew Uber's license, citing concerns about a data breach and the number of complaints received, the latest setback to the firm which is battling to keep operating in London.

Uber also faces a license renewal decision in Cambridge next week. The taxi app's licenses are due to expire in Britain's second-biggest city Birmingham and Scottish capital Edinburgh in early 2018.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison)