Deliveroo reports £223m loss despite soaring sales during pandemic

Losses were down from £317.3m in 2019

(Getty Images)

Deliveroo has reported a £223.7m loss as it prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange.

Despite soaring sales during the pandemic, Deliveroo stayed in the red, although losses were down from £317.3m in 2019.

Transactions surged 64 per cent to £4.1bn and the food delivery company said it had seen a sharp rise in restaurants looking to use its app.

Restaurants have relied on takeaway sales while being closed for large parts of the year, presenting companies such as Deliveroo and Just Eat with an opportunity to hoover up sales.

Deliveroo, which is backed by Amazon, announced last week that it plans to float on the stock market in a deal expected to value the company at more than £7.5bn.

More than 6 million people order from 115,000 shops and restaurants via Deliveroo each month, the company said on Monday.

Deliveroo confirmed that it intends to use a dual-class share structure which would see founders keep control over the company after the share sale.

Co-founder and CEO Will Shu will be granted 20 votes per share while all other shareholders will have one vote per share.

Rishi Sunak has been a keen backer of relaxations to stock market listing rules that allow firms to publicly list their shares without diluting the control of company executives.

The planned changes are seen by the chancellor as a way of attracting top tech start-ups to list in London rather than other financial hubs.

Deliveroo's losses stem partly from its heavy investment in rapid expansion. The company currently delivers in around 800 locations across 12 countries.

In a letter accompanying the float plan, Mr Shu said: "Now we take the next big step in our journey by allowing everyone to have a share in our future.

"That's why we are planning to take Deliveroo public here in London, the city where it all started, and we plan to offer our customers across the UK the chance to own a part of the business.

"We are proud to be enabling our customers to participate in a future float and have the chance to buy shares."

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