UK BUSINESS NEWS: Amazon wants to invest in Deliveroo

THE succes of the Deliveroo operation in the UK has seen it being wooed by heavy hitters such as Amazon and Uber who both wish to take it over.

It has grown very quickly since it was founded in London in 2013 and now has operations in many European and Asian countries including Spain.

Now it wants to sell part of its shareholding to Amazon which has been looking to get back into the rapidly expanding fast food delivery business but the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) isn’t so happy with this plan.

Basically, Amazon has two options, one to buy into a company such as Deliveroo or alternatively set up its own competing business (which it did in 2016 but soon pulled out) and the CMA fears that such an investment in the company could be bad for customers, grocers and restaurants as there would be reduced competition.

The CMA’s executive director, Andrea Gomes da Silva, said: “Millions of people in the UK use online food platforms for takeaways, and more than ever are making use of similar services for the same-day delivery of groceries and we are worried about lessening of competition.”

That then is the problem and unless and until the two companies are able to persuade the CMA that its fears are groundless, approval will not be given for the investment.

Any purchase in the UK is likely to include other markets such as Spain where Deliveroo operates in many large towns and cities.