Chauffeurs - what's the deal?

[TopGear7]

I'm in London quite often and recently have been frequenting certain areas where chauffeur driven cars appear to be everywhere. What stands out is the majority of the time these guys are sat in the cars watching TV, on their phone or buffing the bonnet with a cloth.

Are these guys employed solely by that client. So they could literally just sit there for hours on end waiting around?

What type of business are these people generally in who require chauffeurs on hand all day long? I'm intrigued due to the sheer volume of them all congregate in largely the same areas and streets.

[TopGear7]

Thanks for the replies so far all. Very interesting. I did wonder how these super wealthy/important trust all their goings on, whereabouts and family members with a what is stranger driving them about, but the ex army etc makes sense.

In response to the person asking where; mainly around Mayfair - Mount St, Berkeley Sq, New Bond St and surrounding side streets - Piccadilly and Belgravia also. I think they stand out even more for me as I’m quite the fan of big luxury barges.