Deliveroo is considering ending services in Spain due to high costs associated with running operations in the country to focus on other markets and expand in new and existing cities, the food delivery firm said on Friday.
"The company has determined that achieving and sustaining a top-tier market position in Spain would require a disproportionate level of investment with highly uncertain long-term potential returns," Deliveroo said in a statement.
Spain's government in May gave food delivery companies three months to convert their couriers into staff workers, one of the first laws in Europe regarding gig-economy workers' rights.
Subject To Consultation
The proposal is subject to consultation with employees and riders who will be affected by the end of operations, Deliveroo said, adding that Spain accounted for less than 2% its overall transaction values in the first half of 2021.
The London-listed company ranks fourth in a list of food-delivery firms with the biggest market share in Spain, below Uber Eats, Just Eat and Glovo, according to a report by financial advising firm Fintonic in August last year.
In March, shares in Deliveroo plunged by as much as 30% in their trading debut, slicing more than £2 billion off the company's valuation in a blow to Britain's ambitions to attract fast-growing tech companies to the London market.
Earlier this month, the food delivery company said that orders jumped 88% to 78 million during its most recent quarter. However, it tempered its outlook for annual profit margins, as orders start to return to pre-pandemic levels.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. For more Technology news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
