Deliveroo promises drivers up to £10,000 EACH as it prepares to float on the stock market

DELIVEROO has announced that it will be rewarding its drivers with up to £10,000 each as a thank you when it floats on the UK stock market.

The food delivery chain is also offering customers a chance to get in on the market launch with an exclusive opportunity to buy stocks.

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Over one quarter of Deliveroo’s global rider fleet are expected to benefit from the new £16million ‘Thank You Fund’, which will launch on the day the company goes public.

There will be payments of £10,000, £1,000, £500 and £200, or local currency equivalents.

Every rider who has worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and has completed 2,000 orders will receive £200, and the average payment per eligible rider will be £440.

The cash payment will be calculated by reference to the number of orders completed by each eligible

The largest payments being made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market, with hundreds set to receive the largest payment of £10,000.

Over half of those receiving this sum are in the UK, some of whom began riding with Deliveroo alongside CEO Will Shu soon after the company launched.

Rider Louise Tindell said: !I was truly surprised and amazed when I found out about the reward – I really wasn’t expecting it at all.

“With the money, I plan on buying my sons two new bikes (they love racing), and then the rest will go towards helping my family.”

Deliveroo is also allocating a total of £50m of shares to its customers for when the company lists on the UK stock market.

Any customers who have placed an order with Deliveroo will have the chance to buy up to £1,000 of shares each.

From tomorrow, customers will be able to register their interest in applying for shares via the app.

To do this, simply visit the app or download it, and follow the instructions on screen. 

Because the total number of shares is limited, the company cannot guarantee that everyone who applies for shares will be allocated them.

Deliveroo says that if demand is high it will prioritise existing loyal customers, but will make sure a mixture of new and existing customers benefit.

It is one of the most anticipated floats in years – and could rival the privatisations of BT and British Gas in the 1980s for involving ordinary folk in shares.

Normally, these so-called initial public offerings – or IPOs – are reserved for bankers or private investors with £1million-plus accounts. 

Ordinary Brits were first spurred into buying shares in British Gas through the iconic “Tell Sid” telly ads, and then made a killing on them. But investing never took off among people who work outside of the financial sector.

But like the Maggie Thatcher’s shares sales of the 1980s, Deliveroo – set up in the UK in 2013 and whose growth has been supercharged due to lockdown shutting restaurants – looks to get families into investing. 

Buying shares in IPOs can be lucrative. US rival DoorDash had an IPO price of $102 per share and at the end of the day they went on the New York stock exchange they were $189.50, and on Friday closed at $151.48.

But financial experts warned shares can be volatile – and there is every chance investors could lose money, particularly if demand for takeaways wanes post-lockdown.

It is not yet clear what Deliveroo will be valued at and so what price of each share will be – that will be decided over the next few weeks as Deliveroo gauges how much big investors are willing to pay.  

But it is expected that the company, which includes Amazon as one of its earlier investors, will be valued at more than £7billion.

Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said: “Far too often normal people are locked out of IPOs, and the only participants are the institutional investors.

“I wanted to give as many customers as possible the chance to become shareholders, which is why we’re making available £50m of shares available to them, alongside our restaurant partners and riders.

“I want to thank our riders who have been working with us for years, delivering great food and such a fantastic experience for our customers.

“Some of these riders have been with us since the start and I’m delighted that they can share in the excitement of the company’s next chapter.”

Deliveroo was set up in 2013 by William Shu and Greg Orlowsk. It works with over 115,000 restaurants and grocery partners, as well as 100,000 riders around the world. 

The pandemic has more than doubled demand for takeaway deliveries as lockdowns shut restaurants. 

In the UK, Just Eat and Deliveroo have just over a third of the market for delivery, with Uber Eats a quarter and others like FoodHub, a new rival, and Dominos sharing the rest.

Just Eat Takeaway.com, Deliveroo’s main rival in Europe, is listed on the FTSE 100 and valued at £10.1billion.

In New York, DoorDash – the biggest food delivery firm in the US – was valued at £44.3billion at its IPO in December. Deliveroo operates in the US but has yet to make a dent in DoorDash, Uber Eats and GrubHub.

Deliveroo has chosen London for its IPO after the chancellor Rishi Sunak backed an overhaul of listing rules that make it easier to go public in the capital.

It is a boost for the City as it battles New York and Amsterdam post-Brexit.

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