Deliveroo, the online food delivery company, is now valued at close to €5.8bn after the company raised an additional €150m from investors in its latest funding round. Will Shu, the founder and CEO of Deliveroo, said the new funding will be used to invest further in the business, particularly its on-demand grocery service.

Shu also confirmed that Deliveroo was eyeing a potential public offering (IPO), which is expected in the second quarter of 2021.

To underline the remarkable growth in this UK startup company, Deliveroo as a business is now valued at the same level as Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second largest supermarket, and worth considerably more than the likes of Glanbia plc here in Ireland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a major acceleration in food delivery trends and Deliveroo has said it is returning an operating profit since the second half of 2020. In total, Deliveroo works with more than 140,000 restaurants and 110,000 delivery riders around the world, including Ireland.

One of the earliest backers in the company is Amazon, the US e-commerce giant.