GENSOCIAL
Takeaway delivery app Foodhub has agreed a multi-million pound deal to acquire an Australian food ordering system as part of its international growth plans.
The Stoke-on-Trent company – which rivals Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats – has taken over Eat Appy.
The deal is part of Foodhub’s ambition to expand its overseas footprint and is the first step in its global expansion plan for 2021.
Foodhub, which was founded in 2017 by Stoke-on-Trent School friends Ardian Mula and Mohammed Shakil, launched its platform in the USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Ireland and New Zealand last year; and now it has added Australia to its growing portfolio of new territories.
Launched in 2016, Eat Appy already operates a non-comissioned food delivery service – similar to Foodhub – across pick-up and delivery, table ordering and room service, making it one of Australia’s largest online ordering platforms.
Mohamed Chaudry, chief financial officer at Foodhub, said: “The acquisition of Eat Appy significantly increases our global footprint, our number of delivery partners and our pool of hungry customers. This business move is the largest Foodhub acquisition to date and shows our commitment to international growth, despite a year of uncertainty for many.”
The multi-million pound acquisition will help both Foodhub and Eat Appy to expand their customer base in Australia, while Foodhub will also be able to increase its selection of menus and takeaways.
The deal comes at a time of ‘exponential growth’ for Foodhub – which has a network of more than 20,000 restaurant partners across the UK – after seeing food orders increase by more than 66 per cent over the last 12 months in comparison to pre-lockdown figures.
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Ardian Mula, co-founder and CEO at Foodhub, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Foodhub. The platform has allowed our takeaway partners to meet the surge in demand over the last year whilst ensuring they don’t lose a penny of the profits to commission. We’re passionate about rolling this innovative model out globally, so to have acquired such a key player in the Australian market means we are in the perfect position to do this.”
Chief operating officer Philip Mostyn added: “Acquiring the Eat Appy brand demonstrates our pledge to becoming the market leader for food ordering – achieving our ambition to help independent takeaways and restaurants grow and prosper as they continue to battle the chains.”
Foodhub recently announced that it is opening a brand new contact centre at its Duke Street headquarters, in Fenton, in a move which will create 14 new jobs.
