Deliveroo Reports Reduced Losses Ahead of IPO As Covid Boosts Demand | Deliveroo

Meal delivery company Deliveroo has confirmed plans to debut on the London stock market, with company reporting narrower annual loss following boom in demand during Covid-19 pandemic .

The offering, which could value the company at $ 7 billion (£ 5 billion) following the initial public offering, will be open to ordinary clients as well as institutional investors. Deliveroo has yet to confirm a price target.

The announcement comes days after the UK government pledged to change the rules that would allow founders like Deliveroo’s Will Shu to retain control of their businesses despite selling shares to stock market investors.

Deliveroo confirmed on Monday that it will benefit from the two-class share structure, which will last for three years and temporarily deprive investors of typical property rights.

While Shu is expected to offer his most prolific runners up to £ 10,000 each after the IPO, the IPO will likely result in a multi-million pound salary for the former investment banker who started Deliveroo. from her London apartment in 2013.

The stock market announcement came as the company revealed an underlying loss of £ 223.7million for 2020, lower than the loss of £ 317.3million it had reported for 2019.

The findings cover the start of the Covid epidemic, which has forced restaurants to shut down restaurants indoors and turn to delivery and take-out services during lockdowns. Shu previously said the pandemic accelerated consumer adoption of food delivery by almost three years, and order volumes in the UK and Ireland were double those recorded in 2019.

The company said it operates a market worth nearly £ 1.2 billion, “which is heavily under-penetrated in terms of online share compared to other industries, presenting an opportunity to high growth ”.

Deliveroo serves 6 million customers worldwide and works with more than 10,000 passengers who deliver food from 115,000 restaurants, take-out and grocery stores in 12 countries.

“With our global reach and proven track record of entering and growing in new markets, we believe we can realize further growth opportunities in both existing and new markets,” Deliveroo said. .