Deliveroo receives £45m funding to expand internationally
Deliveroo, a London start-up food delivery service which allows restaurants to offer takeaways, has raised $70m (£45m) in funding to expand internationally.
The investment. involving Facebook backers Accel Partners and Index Ventures, comes just six months after a $25m (£16.5m) funding round in January.
The investment will help the company strengthen its competition against rivals Just Eat and Hungry House.
Deliveroo was founded in 2013 by former investment banker William Shu and Greg Orlowski. The company enables customers to have meals delivered from a choice of more than 2,000 establishments, including chain restaurants such as Nando's as well as local independent restaurants by one of the hundreds of Deliveroo drivers and cyclists. The delivery fee is £2.50.
The company operates in 18 towns and cities within the UK as well as France, Germany and Ireland. It said it will use the money to develop its technology to help it expand into new cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
William Shu, co-founder and chief executive of Deliveroo, said: "We've seen huge demand for our service from customers and restaurant partners alike.
"Although we've grown rapidly since inception, we're extremely excited to be entering into the next phase of our ambitious expansion strategy. We're committed to building our team of passionate drivers; offering restaurants a new revenue stream and helping more customers around the world discover and enjoy great local food with an unparalleled level of convenience."
Martin Mignot, an investor at Index Ventures, added: "We've had the chance to see Will and his team operate for the past 18 months, and we've been blown away by how quickly they've managed to grow the business, both in London and outside, while maintaining a consistent user experience and delivery time.
"Their product has really struck a chord with customers, and we're delighted to have the opportunity to invest again, for the third time, and keep on increasing our support to the company as it expands internationally."
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