Deliveroo claims it will 'help create 70,000 restaurant jobs' with expansion plans

Deliveroo is on track to create 70,000 jobs in UK restaurant sector by next year, providing some relief to a market racked with uncertainty as a flurry high street chains battle to stay afloat.

A report from Capital Economics claimed the food delivery company, founded in 2013, had created around 25,000 roles in the UK restaurant industry in the past six years.

This is on top of its 25,000 so-called “riders”, who deliver food to customers, which it classes as self-employed. The research was commissioned by Deliveroo, the company said.

Around 950,000 people are employed in the restaurant and mobile food sector in the UK, but the future of a number of those in the industry have been thrown into doubt, given restaurants have been battling headwinds in recent months.

Last year, around 10,000 restaurant workers lost their jobs as costs for restaurants mounted, according to recent research.

The redundancies have continued into 2019, with Patisserie Valerie shuttering stores and, this week, Jamie Oliver's restaurant empire falling into administration, costing around 1,000 jobs.

The hit has been particularly hard for the “casual dining” segment of the market, with names including Prezzo, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Byron all closing outlets or restructuring their operations.

Deliveroo boss Will Shu said it was “a challenging time for the high street", but that the food delivery company's growth "will create more jobs on Britain’s high streets, bring more revenue to restaurants, create work for more riders and, of course, bring exciting foods to offices and homes across the UK”.

“Deliveroo offers restaurants access to new customers they wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach,” he said.

The latest figures, from Capital Economics, came as Deliveroo said it would be launching in ten more towns across the UK, including Harlow, Warrington and Middlesborough.

Last week, it announced it had raised $575m (£450m) from investors including Amazon.