Deliveroo sets course for £1bn

AN INTERNET takeaway firm is on the brink of becoming Britain’s latest tech unicorn in a deal valuing it at more than £1bn, it is claimed.

Deliveroo is seeking to raise around £211m as it battles rivals and seeks to expand across the country.

The firm is said to be in talks with a technology fund set up by Japanese firm Softbank, which bought Uk microchip maker ARM Holdings for £24.3bn last year.

Its funding round is expected to value the business at between £1bn and £1.5bn, giving it the exclusive so-called unicorn status of a privately-owned company firm worth more than $1bn (£760m).

The deal would make 37-year-old founder Will Shu one of Britain’s richest entrepreneurs as he owns a large minority stake.

The former investment banker co-founded Deliveroo in 2012, after he lived off takeaways while working 100-hour weeks and became disappointed with the quality available.