Deliveroo raises $275m to fund further expansion

Restaurant delivery service Deliveroo, which operates in five Irish cities, has raised $275 million via a Series E investment round to help fund further expansion.

The funding round was led by private-equity group Bridgepoint. Other investors included DST Global, General Catalyst Partners and Greenoaks Capital. Deliveroo was founded by Will Shue in 2013 and operates in 84 cities across 12 countries.

The company opened its Irish office a year ago and now operates in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Belfast.

Deliveroo, which in May claimed it was experiencing 25 per cent month-on-month growth in Ireland, has signed up 200 restaurants and created 400 jobs across the cities it operates in.

Profitability

Late last year, Deliveroo raised more than $100 million from investors which include Irish entrepreneur Dylan Collins's Hoxton Ventures, to fund further expansion. Since that funding round the company said it has achieved more than 400 per cent growth and reached profitability in a number of the markets in which it operates.

Unlike takeaway platforms such as Just Eat that require restaurants to have their own delivery service, Deliveroo provides drivers to ensure ordered food quickly gets to where it is meant to go quickly.

The group typically limits the delivery area to within 2.5km of the restaurant, to ensure that food arrives to customers fresh and as it was intended by chefs.

The company recently announced an initiative called RooBox, which is expected to be rolled out in Ireland. Initially launching in London, it will provide partner restaurants with fully equipped off-site kitchens in areas that have large residential populations but not enough restaurant space to ensure prompt delivery of food.

While the company has achieved success, it has also come in for criticism over its contractor model, which sees drivers working under flexible contracts, rather than on traditional employment terms.