Deliveroo taking on 200 riders in the city

DELIVEROO has announced plans to hire an additional 200 riders in Leicester by the end of the year.

The company said food deliveries numbers have soared during lockdown.

The company has been delivering meals in the city for five years and now works with more than 400 restaurants.

Across the UK, the company said it will have more than doubled its number of riders, from 25,000 to more than 50,000 in the UK over the course of 2020.

It has already started to work with 15,000 new riders across the UK during the pandemic.

Deliveroo said nearly half of the people who ride for it globally are students.

Will Shu, chief executive of Deliveroo, said: “Riders are heroes and we are so proud of the vital role they are carrying out in their communities during the pandemic.

“It is fantastic we can now recruit even more riders and will create 200 opportunities in Leicester by the end of the year.

“With a record number of riders and restaurant partners on the platform, we can now reach even more customers across the UK, delivering the food that people need and want.”

The number of Deliveroo riders follows the sharp rise in new restaurants that have joined the platform since March.

There are 11,500 new UK restaurant partners on Deliveroo, including 8,800 small and independents.

Deliveroo has also signed up 16 on-demand grocery partners this year, including Aldi, Morrison’s, Waitrose and Co-op.