Uber plans to expand its food delivery business to the UK - but Deliveroo isn't worried
Uber is planning to expand its food delivery business to the UK, BuzzFeed News reports.
UberEats, as the service is known, allows people to order food during a fixed window each day from selected local restaurants and get that food delivered by an Uber driver. The service is currently available in 16 major cities, predominantly in North America.
But Uber is recruiting a team of bicycle and moped drivers in London, according to BuzzFeed News, which reports that there's a £100 sign-up bonus for "delivery partners."
The San Francisco-headquartered company is also advertising for a Restaurant Partnerships Manager for UberEats in London. The job ad reads:
It's not clear when UberEats will arrive in London.
An Uber spokesperson told BuzzFeed News: "UberEats has been hugely popular in every city around the world we have launched it in, so the fact we are exploring the UK market shouldn't come as a surprise. We're always looking at what other services we can bring to the market here."
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Deliveroo is just one of the companies that Uber will be going up against. The company has raised $200 million to help it expand to around 40 UK cities, with another 30-40 on the horizon.
Deliveroo UK and Ireland managing director Dan Warne foresaw the arrival of larger companies into the UK food delivery market. "I'm sure there will be some much bigger fish who consider entering the market at some point," he told Business Insider last month. "We say our core business is restaurants and motorcycle. We embrace anyone that comes in from another market. But we feel we're in a very good position.
"We always welcome competition. It helps the market to innovate. It helps us be better, and it helps restaurants."