Just Eat to create ‘thousands’ of UK jobs as revenues hit almost £1bn

Hungry Britons were happy to Just Eat during the coronavirus lockdown, according to the food delivery company’s latest sales figures.

Just Eat, which delivers from more than 30,000 restaurants in the UK alone, has reported a 44% increase in global revenues to €1bn (£905m) in the first six months of 2020. And the UK-based firm’s total customer numbers have ballooned from 44 million to 54 million year-on-year.

The half-year results are the first to be released since the £6bn merger of Just Eat and Dutch firm Takeaway.com, and have been boosted by particularly strong sales in the UK, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia and Brazil, City A.M. reports.

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By contrast, the UK hospitality industry is struggling and redundancy numbers are soaring amid the economic fallout of Covid-19. But in a ray of hope, Just Eat chief executive Jitse Groen has told Sky News that the company is to invest “tens of millions of pounds” in the UK and create “thousands” of new jobs.

“Just Eat Takeaway.com is in the fortunate position to benefit from continuing tailwinds,” Groen said.

“On the back of the current momentum, we started an aggressive investment programme, which we believe will further strengthen our market positions.”

Although Just Eat’s expansion plan will bring some respite to the hospitality sector, The Telegraph reports that Britain’s biggest pub and restaurant chains suffered a 50% drop in year-on-year sales in July, after reopening for the first time since lockdown measures were eased.

A recent analysis by the Daily Mail suggests that 18,100 jobs in the restaurant sector are set to be axed amid an “economic armageddon” in the UK.