Deliveroo launches IPO after business surges in 2020

Delivery firm also narrowed losses last year to €369m

Deliveroo launched in Ireland in 2015 and currently has more than 1,100 self-employed riders across Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

Food delivery firm Deliveroo announced plans to launch its hotly anticipated London listing today after recording a surge in business during the Covid-19 pandemic, although it still posted a loss for 2020.

The initial public offering (IPO) is expected to value Deliveroo at more than $7bn (€5.89bn), based on a private funding round it completed in January and will be one of the largest London listings in several years.

The company published a registration document and an expected "intention to float" -- which signals the start of the listing process -- on Monday, capping what has been a busy start to the London IPO season.

In an accompanying trading update, the company said it had grown the total number of transactions processed on its online platform, the so-called Gross Transaction Value, by 64.3% last year to £4.1bn (€4.77bn) from £2.5bn (€2.91bn) in 2019.

It also narrowed an underlying loss to 223.7m (€260m) from 317.3m (€369m) in 2019.

Deliveroo launched in Ireland in 2015 and currently works with more than 1,100 self-employed riders and more than 1,800 restaurants across Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. 

"Today, Deliveroo is so much bigger than I ever would have thought possible," founder and chief executive Will Shu said in the trading update. "We are building delivery-only kitchens, delivering groceries, building tools for restaurants to take them into the digital age - things I never contemplated when we launched."

The company confirmed it plans to use a dual-class share structure that will give Shu more control over the company.

This means it will have a "standard" listing upon entry into the London Stock Exchange, rather than a premium one, excluding it from the FTSE indices.

However, this could change if recommendations made in a recent review of listing rules by former EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill are implemented.

"It's obviously great news that Deliveroo, a global technology leader, born and bred in the UK, has chosen to list here," Hill said in a statement provided by Deliveroo. "The changes we recommended would make it easier for more companies to follow Deliveroo's lead, sending out a message that London is open for business."