JUST EAT Takeaway.com reported 1.1bn orders in 2021, a 33 per cent jump on the previous year, with the pandemic boosting sales across online food delivery marketplaces.

In its fourth quarter trading update, Just Eat revealed its gross transaction value (GTV) was €28.2bn for the full year of 2021, representing an increase of 31 per cent compared with 2020.

The UK and Ireland was Just Eat's fastest growing segment for both the quarter and the year.

The delivery giant will continue to invest heavily in its London network, with the company wading into the on-demand grocery market this year through agreements with both Asda and One Stop.

It also remains in discussion with several potential strategic partners to strengthen its US position.

Its North American platform Grubhub recently entered into a partnership between Instacart and its own branded convenience pilot - Grubhub Goods - which can operate in 7-Eleven convenience stores.

Just Eat merged with Takeaway.com nearly two years ago, with the Amsterdam company boosting its orders six-fold in a market characterised by pandemic conditions with people staying at home amid lockdowns across developed economies.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, argued that the considerable uptake in orders was "no mean feat".

The analyst believed the latest results suggest Just Eat is gaining ground on its rivals such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

Streeter said: "The investment following the merger of Just Eat and Takeaway.com and the acquisition of Grubhub is now paying off and there should be the prospect of continued growth ahead with more restaurants being signed up offering more choice, particularly in the lucrative New York market."

Just Eat left the FTSE 100 last September, scrapping its dual listing in London and Amsterdam.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper