(Bloomberg) — U.K. rapid grocery company Weezy is working with investment bank Evercore Inc. to explore a potential sale of its business, according to people familiar with the matter, becoming the latest startup to consider the option as a means of coping with the industry’s intense competition and high costs.
London-based Weezy, founded in late 2019, completed its most recent fundraise in January, and has received about $20 million from venture capital firms including DN Capital, Left Lane Capital, and Heartcore Capital.
Representatives from Weezy and Evercore declined to comment. It’s early in the process, one of the people said, and there’s no guarantee of a sale.
Grocery and food delivery have boomed over the last year as consumers are proving slow to give up the habit of internet shopping for food and meals even as pandemic-stricken economies reopen. Investors are pouring billions of dollars into startups — Gorillas, Flink and Zapp are among those that have raised large sums. Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Turkish startup Getir had secured $150 million from an existing investor to take its fundraising above $1.1 billion this year.
The ensuing battle for market share is forcing some to explore consolidation and partnering with bigger players. Among these are France’s Cajoo, which received an investment from grocery giant Carrefour SA, and Britain’s Dija, which was purchased by rival service Gopuff.
Weezy currently has an annual revenue run-rate of around $20 million to $25 million, the people said, asking for anonymity because the discussions are private.
At its public offering price earlier this year, U.K. food delivery company Deliveroo Plc was valued at about 6.4 times last year’s adjusted revenue of 1.2 billion pounds ($1.7 billion).
Weezy sells more than 2,000 products, including fresh produce, through its urban fulfillment centers in cities such as London and Manchester. Customers order through the app with delivery in 15 minutes.
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