Just Eat gets green light to gobble up rival Hungryhouse

Just Eat (Frankfurt: A1100K - news) 's £200m takeover of takeaway delivery rival Hungryhouse has been given the all-clear by the UK's competition regulator.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed provisional findings to conclude that the deal did not raise competition concerns.

It said Hungryhouse was much smaller in size and would find it increasingly difficult to attract and retain customers.

The CMA added that the industry was evolving rapidly with the likes of Deliveroo, UberEATS and Amazon posing a greater and growing challenge to Just Eat as they expand.

It also took into account the fact that consumers could still choose to order directly from takeaways rather than via one of these online platforms.

Just Eat welcomed the announcement and said it now expects to complete the takeover on 31 January.

Online takeaway delivery platforms offer ordering services which allow customers the convenience of choosing from a wide range of providers in one place.

Just Eat agreed last December to pay £200m to owner Delivery Hero for Hungryhouse, with the price possibly climbing by another £40m depending on performance.

The CMA referred the deal for an in-depth investigation in May.

Just Eat is on a global expansion spree which has also seen it tale over Canadian business SkipTheDishes.