Deliveroo drafts in Goldman Sachs as it eyes London float

Deliveroo has begun working with investment bank Goldman Sachs on plans for an initial public offering as it plans to unveil new innovative features to entice investors.

The float is expected to take place next year and would value Deliveroo at around £2bn, according to Sky News. 

Further investment banks are expected to be appointed by the app, as it prepares to add 15,000 delivery riders to its fleet by the end of the year in a bid to woo investment. 

Deliveroo, founded by chief executive Will Shu in 2013, has seen sales surge as customers turned to its services to get food delivered during the pandemic.

However, earlier in the coronavirus crisis, the cost of continued investment in technology and the strain placed on many of its partner restaurants saw Deliveroo warn it faced collapse without outside investment from US tech giant Amazon. 

After a protracted battle, Amazon’s investment in the app was approved by the Competition and Markets Authority over the summer. 

Deliveroo have also looked to capitalise on the growth of online grocery sales, partnering with 16 convenience groups and supermarket chains – including the Co-op, Waitrose, Iceland and Morrisons. 

Sky News said the app was also looking to add new features to its service ahead of the proposed float, including post-order tipping and a group-ordering function.

The tech company is also working on a new ‘Brought to you by Deliveroo’ feature, allowing customers to order directly from restaurant’s websites. 

Deliveroo’s executive vice-president of restaurants Stephen Goldstein said: “These upgrades to our service will help restaurants reach as many consumers as possible while substantially improving the already market-leading Deliveroo customer experience – families, students and other groups can now easily and safely order together.

“These changes are particularly important given the current backdrop and are in addition to other support measures we have developed to help all restaurants, particularly small independents that are the lifeblood of the industry and the high street.”