Appetite for Just Eat shares wanes

It said its number of active users had risen by three million to 11 million over the first half of this year as revenues surged 54 per cent to £107.8m compared to the same period in 2014, while pre-tax profits added 63 per cent to £14m.

But shares, which have climbed sharply since the group’s stock market float last year, took a hit, falling as much as 3 per cent. One analyst pointed to the looming threat from rivals.

The figures showed hungry customers ordering food online via their mobile now represented 69 per cent of orders in the UK, the group’s largest market – where revenues grew by half to £76.9m.

Just Eat makes money by connecting customers to more than 59,000 takeaway restaurants. However, in the UK it said it had now started actively removing restaurants “that were giving consumers a consistently bad online experience”.

The company has also been snapping up market-leading operations in Mexico, Australia and New Zealand and chief executive David Buttress said it would continue to look for “potential acquisition and partnership opportunities”.

He added: “Just Eat has made a very strong start to 2015, increasing the numbers of active users, takeaway restaurants and orders.”