Despite the ebbing of the pandemic, London-based Deliveroo saw an 88 percent increase in quarterly food orders. As a result, the delivery company has raised its revenue forecast, multiple news outlets said.
Reuters reported the company now predicts that its gross transaction value (GTV) will grow by 50 to 60 percent in 2021. The earlier forecast called for growth of 30 to 40 percent.
GTV is a measure used by eCommerce companies that have a marketplace with multiple sellers. In the food-delivery world, this does not include tips.
The company said that it connects customers with over 115,000 restaurants and grocers in the U.K. and 11 other countries. Amazon-backed Deliveroo has a network of 100,000 drivers.
Deliveroo’s experience after going public has been mixed. Shares climbed by 4 percent on the current announcements. However, the stock price is still down 14 percent from its initial public offering (IPO) price in March.
Deliveroo and rivals like Just Eat Takeaway.com — which make money by taking a percentage of each order — have benefited from pandemic rules that have shuttered restaurants or cut down on allowable occupancy. One concern was that revenues would fall as vaccinations proceed and regulations are relaxed.
Now, Deliveroo appears more confident on the market for its services.
A U.K. court ruled in June that Deliveroo’s delivery workers are self-employed, dismissing an appeal by a union seeking to represent those workers. The ruling by Britain’s Court of Appeal affirms previous court decisions that have gone against the the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, which sought permission for collective bargaining rights on behalf of Deliveroo riders in 2017.
This decision seems to go against an earlier ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court, which found Uber drivers were entitled a minimum wage, paid time off and other benefits. In response, Uber reclassified all of its 70,000 drivers as workers.
