Deliveroo IPO could be on menu with star tech startup said to be eyeing 2019 float
An IPO could be on the menu for one of the UK's most high profile and fastest growing tech startups.
Deliveroo has appointed PwC to evaluate is strategic options, the Sunday Times reports, with a float in either London or New York being considered for 2019.
Founder Will Shu, formerly an investment banker, has previously indicated an IPO for the six-year-old $2bn (£1.4bn) valued firm is a logical next step after closing a $385m round of investment from top US investors last year.
Revenues at the food delivery startup rocketed by more than 600 per cent in 2016, the most recent year for which public accounts are available, to £128m. But losses also soared to nearly £130m, from £30m a year earlier.
As well as bringing a windfall for founder Will Shu, several venture capital investors stand to reap rewards from a listing, including a handful of London-based early backers. That includes Hoxton Ventures, Hummingbird Ventures and Index Ventures.
Later backers to have ploughed more than $800m into Deliveroo include private equity giant Bridgepoint, and US investment firms T Rowe Price and Fidelity.
The timing of an IPO would see it going up against its biggest rival, UberEats. Uber, which derives most of its business from ride-hailing and not food delivery, is also targeting an IPO in 2019.
Fellow online takeaway service Just Eat is one of the UK's most successful startup stories to date, floating on the London Stock Exchange in 2014 with a then £1.5bn valuation and climbing its way into the FTSE 100 at the end of last year. Its market cap currently stands at £5.46bn.