Deliveroo has appointed fashion retail giant Next’s chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson to its board as the company prepares for what could be this year’s largest initial public offering (IPO).
Wolfson joined the rapidly expanding delivery company as a non-executive director this week, aiming to bring his “great knowledge and insight” to the company.
The appointment comes just days after Deliveroo completed a new Series H funding round, raising $180 million (£132 million) and valuing the company at a whopping $7 billion, nearly double the value seen during its last funding round in 2019.
“We are excited about his appointment,” Deliveroo’s chief executive Will Shu said.
“We are looking forward to working with him as we continue to innovate, developing new tech tools to support restaurants, to provide riders with more work and to extend choice for customers, bringing them the food they love from more restaurants than ever before.”
Wolfson added: “I am delighted to be taking up this role. Deliveroo is an exciting, innovative and fast-growing company that, like Next, relies on advanced technology to deliver a market-leading proposition. I look forward to working with the talented leadership team on the many opportunities ahead.”
READ MORE: Deliveroo sees value rocket to $7 billion as IPO looms
While grocery delivery was a fledgling service for Deliveroo at the beginning of last year, the pandemic has seen it sign 36 deals with major retailers including Aldi and Waitrose, helping it double its revenues since the start of the pandemic.
Alongside a major investment from Amazon, which now owns 16 per cent of the company, this has sparked massive interest in Deliveroo’s stock ahead of its hotly anticipated IPO later this year.
In November, it was revealed that Deliveroo was appointing retail heavyweight Claudia Arney to its board, suggesting it could seek a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, making it eligible for inclusion in the blue-chip indices.
A month earlier Deliveroo appointed Goldman Sachs to start working on plans to take it public, following months of speculation.
While it is as yet unclear whether Deliveroo will list on the London or New York stock exchange, it is understood that the listing could take place as soon as April.
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