More than 46m takeaways ordered through Just Eat in three months

The owner of online takeaway platform Just Eat has revealed hungry households in the UK ordered 46.4 million takeaways in the three months to the end of September.

Just Eat Takeaway.com said the growth helped the business accelerate away from its competitors, aided by signing up McDonald’s and Greggs to the platform.

The pandemic has also helped, with more families opting to eat in as restrictions increase in the face of a second wave.

Globally, the Dutch-based business saw orders of 151.4 million in the third quarter of 2020, bringing the total to 408.3 million in the first nine months of the year.

Chief executive Jitse Groen said: “Order growth at Just Eat Takeaway.com further accelerated, consequently widening the gap to competitors in our key markets.

“We have continued to generate strong adjusted Ebitda (profits excluding one-off costs), while investing aggressively, and are well-positioned for autumn and winter, our traditional growth season.”

The boost came despite the Eat Out to Help Out scheme launched by the Government during the period, which Just Eat said failed to dent orders.

Just Eat Takeaway.com has been on a buying spree of rivals in recent years to cement its position as the world’s biggest online takeaway platform – with a takeover of Grubhub approved on October 7.

The UK saw strong growth in orders with 123.2 million placed in the first nine months of the year – up 27% on the first nine months of 2019.

The speed of growth increased significantly during the third quarter – up 43% on a year-on-year basis – although the company’s fastest-growing region was Australia with increases of more than 100%.