The chief executive of food delivery platform Deliveroo said he had not had any talks with his counterpart at Delivery Hero since the German company took a 5.09% stake in the business last week, adding that he viewed the move as a financial one.
"I think his (Delivery Hero CEO) view was: the stock's undervalued, I'm gonna start buying, and I know the space super well," Will Shu said in an interview, following the publication of its first-half results. "This is, in my view, just a financial investment."
Improved Performance
Deliveroo said the value of orders on its platform more than doubled in the first half, with no material impact from the wider reopening of restaurants in its biggest market – Britain – in the second quarter.
The firm, which connects customers with over 115,000 restaurants and grocers in the UK and 11 other countries, said its gross transaction value rose 102% to £3.386 billion (€4 billion).
It said that growth was 'materially ahead of expectations' in the half, adding that consumer engagement post-reopening 'has been encouraging, with orders and average order value proving resilient despite restrictions easing'.
'Making Good Progress'
“We have reported strong performance in the first half of the year and continued to make good progress in executing our strategy," Shu commented on the group's results. "As a result, I believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of the huge opportunity ahead.
“We are seeing strong growth and engagement across our marketplace as lockdowns continue to ease. Demand has been high amongst consumers. We have widened our consumer base, seen people continuing to order frequently and we now work with more food merchants than any other platform in the UK. At the same time, more riders are choosing to continue to work with the company because they value the work we offer."
Looking ahead, the business anticipates full-year gross transaction value growth of 50% to 60%, an increase on the previous guidance of 30% to 40% growth.
The group recently announced that it was mulling the cessation of its operations in Spain, to focus on growth markets.
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