Deliveroo pulls food service out of Germany as rivals merge

DELIVEROO is ending food delivery in Germany within days, laying off around 100 employees – the first time it has had to shut its service in a country since the business was started in 2013.

The London-based company said deliveries in Germany will stop on Friday, four years after it launched there.

The German food delivery market has been increasingly competitive for Deliveroo – it faced stiff competition from Takeaway.com, which struck a £5bn deal to merge with British competitor Just Eat this month.

Takeaway.com also acquired the German operations of rival firm Delivery Herolast year for €930m (£860m).

Last year Deliveroo ended deliveries in 10 German cities, limiting operations to Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg and Frankfurt.

The closure of the remaining service is likely to disrupt hundreds of Deliveroo riders in Germany. Couriers, who are not employees, will be given an average of 24 days pay based on previous earnings.

A source close to the firm said Deliveroo might relaunch in Germany at some point but had chosen to focus on growing markets for now.

Amazon led a £450m funding round into Deliveroo this year, with T Rowe Price, Fidelity and Greenoaks. The Competition and Markets Authority ordered Amazon to pause its investment last month while the watchdog investigates any breach of competition laws.

It said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect Amazon may merge Deliveroo with its existing food delivery service.

Deliveroo had sought to raise its profile by hiring a branded helicopter earlier this month, which Sifted estimated cost the firm £2,200 per hour.

A spokesman for Deliveroo said: “We want to thank all of the riders and restaurants who worked with Deliveroo in Germany, as well our wonderful customers. It has been an honour to serve so many people amazing food from Germany’s many great restaurants and to work with so many brilliant, hardworking riders.

“We are grateful to our extremely talented employees for their commitment to bringing fantastic foods to people’s homes, and they will be supported in this period.

“Deliveroo will continue to grow and invest in markets across the world, seeking to become the world’s definitive food company.”