Deliveroo to offer shares worth 50 million pounds to its customers

The food delivery service, Deliveroo, recently announced that it was going to make 50 million pounds worth of shares available to its customers after it goes public. The company delivered the news with the slogan  “Great food with a side of shares”.

Amazon invested in the food company, and it would reportedly open with a public offering worth $7 billion. It is the highest market debut of a company in Britain since 2017. 

Deliveroo's founder said the company wants to give back to its customers  

The founder and chief executive of Deliveroo, Will Shu, said the company wanted to offer its customers the chance to participate in owning a part of the company, as they are responsible for the growth witnessed by Deliveroo. 

In a statement, Shu said that the public is usually excluded from owning shares and that most shares offered through IPO's are owned by institutional investors. 

He added that Deliveroo wanted to make sure its customers became shareholders in the company and that they were making it easier for them by offering them 50 million pounds of shares.

Customers that have used Deliveroo at least once would be eligible 

Shu said that customers that have used the food delivery system at least once would be able to participate through the company's mobile application in the following weeks. Each customer will be able to access 1000 pounds worth of shares, and regular customers will be at the top of their priority list. 

An investment director said that Deliveroo witnessed great growth in 2020 because of the coronavirus lockdown and that it would be highly likely for their customers to continue using the service after the pandemic wears off.  

He added that there would likely be a high demand for the 50 million pounds worth of customer shares among their customers. Deliveroo will make the share option available to their drivers.