Food delivery website Takeaway.com just closed down in the UK
"We need to let you know that we have closed our business in UK. We would like to thank you for having been our customer," Dutch company Takeaway.com announced in an email on Tuesday.
Takeaway.com's growth rate in the UK was "insufficient to sustain a healthy business," company spokesperson Joris Wilton told Business Insider.
It closed its app on Monday, and it is now directing its customers to Just Eat's food delivery platform. The assets sold to Just Eat include details of clients, Wilton said. The spokesperson declined to disclose the price paid by Just Eat for the assets, though he said it would not have a "material impact" on Takeaway.com's business.
The news comes amidst upheaval in the British food delivery market.
UberEats, a delivery service run by Californian transport company Uber, launched in London in June 2016. Then in July, Take Eat Easy - a Belgian delivery startup - went into administration after running out of money.
At the start of August, Deliveroo - a major London player - announced it had raised a new $275 million warchest from investors.
In these circumstances, it's easy to see why a smaller player in the British market like Takeaway.com might decide to cut its losses and retreat. (That said, Wilton denied that the launch of UberEats had an impact on the company's decision to close its UK business.)
Takeaway.com continues to operate in other markets, including the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and France. The asset sale will not affect its competition with Just Eat in markets where both companies are active, Wilton said.
But earlier this month, a similar deal happened in the opposition direction: Just Eat sold its business in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to Takeaway.com.