Deliveroo to roll out to 100 new towns and cities in 2021
Deliveroo will expand its service to 100 new towns and cities across the UK in 2021, following increased demand for business in 2020.
The towns and cities earmarked for expansion include Yeovil, Bangor (Northern Ireland), East Kilbride, King’s Lynn, Scarborough, Llanelli and Exmouth.
The move will mean the takeaway delivery app is available to 4 million new people.
Deliveroo has thrived during the pandemic, as coronavirus restrictions left more people ordering in takeaway in lieu of eating out in restaurants.
Deliveroo has also benefited this year from its grocery delivery service, which has enabled riders to delivery groceries to people self-isolating because of Covid-19.
The previous 12 months marked a year of growth for the business following a couple of years of investment that saw losses at the business run into the hundreds of millions.
Deliveroo chief business officer UKI Carlo Mocci said: “With further lockdown measures now in place across the UK, we want to do everything possible to help households get the food they need and want and play our role to make sure families across the country have a wide selection of amazing food, drink and household products to order in as little as 30 minutes.”
Rumoured IPO
The delivery company will also be expanding its reach in around 150 of the areas it currently operates in, such as Glasgow and the home counties, which, together with the around 100 new towns and cities it expects to enter, will bring the total number of people that could order from Deliveroo to almost two-thirds of the entire population of the UK.
In 2020, 20,000 new restaurants were added to Deliveroo, along with major supermarkets like Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
The company is rumoured to be gearing up for a public listing in the coming months and recently made two big-name hires to help to lead the business – the ex-CEO of Worldpay, and a former director at HM Treasury.
Deliveroo is said to have appointed bankers at JP Morgan as it steps up preparations for the float in London next year. Goldman Sachs is also on board to oversee its long-awaited London flotation.