Deliveroo eyes £8.8bn valuation at London float

Deliveroo is set for a valuation of up to £8.8 billion when it shortly launches on the London stock market, the takeaway meals app said on Monday.

The Amazon-backed British company, in line with other home-delivery companies, has seen demand soar in the past year owing to lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.

The big listing, expected in April, is seen as a major boost to London’s financial sector which has been roiled by Brexit.

Deliveroo’s market capitalisation on listing is set to be between £7.6 billion and £8.8 billion, it said in a statement.

“We are proud to be listing in London, the city where Deliveroo started,” company founder and CEO Will Shu said in a statement.

“Becoming a public company will enable us to continue to invest in innovation, developing new tech tools to support restaurants and grocers, providing riders with more work and extending choice for consumers,” he added.

The offer price range has been set at between £3.90 and £4.60 per share, Deliveroo said.

It will sell around £1.0 billion worth of new shares, while current stakeholders plan to divest parts of their stock.

Since its London launch in 2013, Deliveroo has expanded into mainland Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

Last year, more than six million people ordered food and drink every month from its app via 115,000 cafes, restaurants and stores.

However, its business model has come under scrutiny, including in Britain, France and Spain, as its freelance delivery riders complain of working conditions, reflecting wider concerns over their rights in the gig economy.

Britain’s antitrust regulator last year approved Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo after an in-depth probe concluded it would not harm competition. (AFP)