Technology

Posted on January 22, 2019 by staff

Just Eat takes slice in London FinTech

Technology

Time Out Group has completed the sale of its stake in FinTech company Flyt to Just Eat.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Time Out revealed it has received £9.6 million for its entire stake in Flyt, which represents a £4.5m profit for the global media and entertainment business.

Flyt works with major food outlets including Pizza Express, Nando’s and KFC as well as takeaway platform Just Eat to enable customers to split and pay bills on their mobile phones.

Last year it partnered with Uber Eats to satisfy consumer demand for restaurant delivery services.

Time Out took out its strategic technology investment in Flyt in July 2015 and since then the London firm has significantly scaled its operations, grown revenues and expanded to over 3,000 quick-service and branded restaurants.

Global marketplace for online takeaway delivery Just Eat made a minority investment in Flyt in 2016.

“I would like to thank the team at Time Out for their support over the last three years,” said Flyt CEO Tom Weaver. “During this period, we have significantly grown the business which now supports thousands of restaurants in both Europe and North America.

“We are excited to be part of Just Eat and look forward to working with them and our other partners to further develop the business.”

In an interview with BusinessCloud last year, Weaver explained how the tech works to help establishments juggle orders placed on the premises and from home.

Time Out said it will use the proceeds to invest in the global rollout of Time Out Market, following the success of the first site in Lisbon.

The concept of a food and cultural market which included top-quality bars and restaurants attracted 3.6 million visitors in 2017.

This year, five new Time Out Markets are set to open in North America, including Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago and Montreal.

Impressive line-ups of some of the cities’ top chefs have already been announced for the soon-to-open location in Miami – where all kitchens have been signed up – as well as for New York and Boston.

“We would like to thank Flyt founders Tom Weaver and Chris Evans and the wider team for their excellent work in developing their business during the last three years,” said Time Out Group CEO Julio Bruno.

“Just Eat’s investment announced today proves that this is a success story and we are proud to have been part of it.

“We wish them all the very best as they take the business forward to the next phase of growth in partnership with Just Eat.”

Experiences enabled by Flyt’s platform include Pay at Table, Delivery, Bar Tabs, Order at Table, Order Ahead, Table Management, Digital Voucher Redemption, Food Ratings and other solutions.