Just Eat orders soar 79% in three months amid lockdown takeaway boom

Takeaway delivery giant Just Eat said order numbers soared by 79% over the past three months as lockdown measures sparked demand from housebound customers.

The Just Eat Takeaway.com group told investors on Tuesday morning that it processed around 200 million orders in the first quarter of 2021.

The company – created through the £6.2 billion merger between Just Eat and Dutch rival Takeaway last year – said growth was particularly strong in the UK market.

Just Eat UK processed 64 million orders in the quarter, up 96% compared with the same period of 2020.

It said it was boosted by signing deals with chains such as Leon, Tortilla and Chipotle, as well as coffee brands Starbucks and Costa, to add to its portfolio of restaurants.

The company has rapidly expanded its own delivery operations in recent years to accommodate its marketplace business, where restaurants use its platform but deliver the orders themselves.

Chief executive Jitse Groen said: “The first quarter of 2021 marks our fourth consecutive quarter of order growth acceleration.

“Our fastest-growing segment was the United Kingdom, and we are especially pleased with the rollout of our UK Delivery network, which has reached an impressive 695% order growth rate year on year.

“We are also very proud of the acceleration in two of our highly profitable markets, with 77% order growth in Germany and 53% in the Netherlands.

“Just Eat Takeaway.com is in excellent shape and the start of 2021 has been very strong.”

Shares in the FTSE 100 company were 2% higher at 7,504p in early trading on Tuesday.