Deliveroo Australia
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Deliveroo Australia was the Australian arm of the UK-based on-demand food delivery platform Deliveroo, founded by Will Shu. Launched in 2015, it was the country's longest-standing online food delivery service, connecting consumers with restaurants and a network of independent-contractor riders.
02 / Deliveroo Australia FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Deliveroo Australia failed because it never reached a sustainable market position. In a highly competitive market with four global players (Uber Eats, DoorDash, Menulog and Deliveroo), it had not held a market-leading position since 2016-17, and reaching profitable scale would have required investment whose expected return did not meet Deliveroo's risk/reward thresholds. In the first half of 2022 the Australian unit accounted for only 3% of group gross transaction value while dragging adjusted EBITDA margin down by about 30 basis points. Amid challenging economic conditions, the parent company applied its 'disciplined capital allocation' policy and exited Australia - consistent with its earlier exits from Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Asset restructuring
ABC 16 Nov 2022 (opened): Deliveroo Australia entered voluntary administration under KordaMentha; parent decided to wind up the local arm; customers could no longer place orders; staff terminated the same day.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In 2015, Deliveroo launched in Australia, becoming the country's longest-standing online food delivery platform.
- 02
On November 16, 2022, Deliveroo Australia ceased trading effective immediately and entered voluntary administration, with Michael Korda, Andrew Knight and Craig Shepard of KordaMentha appointed as administrators. The company cited challenging economic conditions and an inability to achieve a sustainable position of leadership; Australia represented 3% of global GTV and hurt group margins.
- 03
On December 21, 2022, creditors approved a Deed of Company Arrangement: $9.5 million to be paid to employees, riders, restaurant partners and suppliers by early 2023, plus $9.3 million for remaining creditors from April 2023, with unsecured creditors estimated to receive 100% of their claims. No reliable company loss figure was disclosed, so no loss amount is recorded.