Just-Eat, a London-based provider of online takeaway services, has completed its acquisition of Urbanbite, a leading online food delivery provider, which is also based in London. The deal consolidates Just-Eat’s position as the UK’s leading online service for takeaway restaurants and gives it access to Urbanbite’s corporate business.
The deal, which sees Just-Eat take a 100% stake in Urbanbite, will have founder Ben Carmona remain with the company in a key leadership role. Urbanbite was founded in 2000, like Just-Eat, and operates a corporate account scheme whereby employees of major organisations can order dinner online at the company’s expense, subject to a number of proprietary rules and policies. With 60% of Urbanbite’s 15,000 orders a month coming from corporate customers, the acquisition places Just-Eat firmly at the forefront of this growing market.
Ben Carmona, the founder of Urbanite, said: “We are delighted to be joining forces with a major and influential player like as Just-Eat. This, I believe, will give the business the boost and credibility it needs to make significant inroads into the lucrative corporate market.”
David Buttress, the Managing Director, UK of Just-Eat, said: “The corporate market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry, and this acquisition not only further consolidates our position as the UK’s leading online takeaway provider, but helps us establish a strong grasp on the key London and corporate markets. As an industry leader we are always looking for opportunities to grow and develop as a business, and with Urbanbite becoming part of the Just-Eat family we will have access to the knowledge Ben and his team have built up over the last few years.”
The Urbanbite deal is the third acquisition Just-Eat has made this year, following a move into Brazil with RestauranteWeb and the purchase of Hungry Zone in India. This growth has been supported by a $48 million round of VC funding in March 2011.
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So this is a good news knowing that the two largest leading online food delivery provider joined forces. This will result a boost on their sales and a threat to other online food delivery providers.