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Highlights
- The UK stock market-listed food delivery firm, Deliveroo Plc, has announced the opening of three new dark kitchen sites, which will be situated in London.
- The new site’s expansion comes after the company recently launched a dark store in central London to deliver grocery products within ten minutes.
The UK stock market-listed food delivery firm Deliveroo Plc (LON: ROO) has announced the opening of three new dark kitchen sites in London areas. The new dark kitchen site will help the company expand its delivery-only ‘Editions’ service, first launched in 2016. Going further, the company plans to set up more such sites across the country to assist restaurants with rapid recovery from the pandemic.
The new site’s expansion comes after the company recently launched a dark store in central London to deliver grocery products within ten minutes.
What is Dark Kitchen?
Dark Kitchens, also known as ghost or cloud kitchen, operates on a delivery-only concept. There is no sitting capacity or dine-in space. These sites focus on selling meals through delivery and are accessible through a mobile app. A dark kitchen is mainly located in car parking or an old industrial area offering space to independent restaurants and food joints. Deliveroo Plc’s new dark kitchen will host many domestic and international brands like Five Guys, Tao Tao Ju, etc.
The Covid-19 led lockdown globally has resulted in a demand surge in food delivery and takeaway services. As a result, many food delivery firms like Uber Eats, Just Eat Takeaway, and others have set up similar services across the country. Moreover, the festive season and new year celebration amid the Omicron fear are expected to benefit the companies driven by a rise in food delivery orders.
Deliveroo Plc’s Business performance
The company’s business continues to report significant improvement. During the third quarter of 2021, the company processed 74.6 million orders resulting in a gross transaction value (GTV) of £1,594 million. The company’s consumer base is growing steadily, with an average active monthly user base of 7.5 million.
In addition, gross transaction value for the first nine months stood at £4,980 million. Segment-wise, the UK and Ireland market reported an 89% rise in GTV at £2,625 million, while the international market GTV stood at £2,355 million during the period. Backed by good performance, the company has upgraded its guidance. It now expects 60-70% growth in full-year GTV, while gross profit margin could be in the range of 7.50%-7.75%.
Deliveroo’s stock performance since listing
(Image Source: Refinitiv)
The company’s stock got listed on London Stock Exchange in March 2021. Since its listing, the share price has surged to a high of GBX 396.80; however, the recent stock performance has been below the market expectation.
The stock price currently trades near its 52-week low of GBX 202 at GBX 212.70 on 23 December 2021 at 10.15 am GMT+1, with a market cap of £3706.2 million.
