The Edinburgh technology hub will be the first Deliveroo office to be based outside London
Deliveroo is one of the main companies associated with the gig economy (Credit: Deliveroo)
Takeaway delivery platform Deliveroo has set out a plan to create a “tech hub” in Edinburgh after taking over a company in the Scottish capital.
The London-based company – one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech start-ups in recent times – has bought Cultivate.
It had already built close ties with the software and design firm, which had worked on Deliveroo’s payments and transactions systems prior to the acquisition.
Cultivate will continue to focus on developing the payments systems for Deliveroo riders and partner restaurants, as well as exploring new features that offer financial support to its gig economy workforce.
As part of the deal, the delivery platform wants to create a tech hub within its new subsidiary’s existing Edinburgh office by adding another 50 high-skilled jobs that will treble Cultivate’s current workforce.
Deliveroo’s vice-president of engineering Dan Winn said: “As a British company, Deliveroo is proud to be investing in Edinburgh and creating more high skilled jobs in the UK.
“Edinburgh is one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech hubs, with access to an excellent talent pool of highly-skilled people and university graduates.
“Deliveroo is committed to offering riders flexible, well-paid work and helping restaurants to grow their businesses.
“Building on Cultivate’s expertise, we are excited to create new products and services that will help us achieve this.”
What is Cultivate? The technology firm acquired by Deliveroo
Scottish design and development consultancy Cultivate has worked with clients including US financial firm JP Morgan, outdoor sports brand North Face and the UK government to develop web and mobile applications.
Speaking on the company’s acquisition by Deliveroo, Cultivate chief commercial officer Andy Robinson said: “Cultivate has a fantastic relationship with Deliveroo, supporting them through an amazing period of growth.
“We were attracted by the array of interesting problems being tackled by their team, and how they are addressing them using modern and emerging technologies.
“We’re proud to have built such a great team here in Edinburgh, and today’s announcement is a testament to their hard work and expertise in building world-class software.
“We are excited to continue this work, create highly skilled jobs, and build a centre of tech excellence here in Edinburgh.”
Mr Robinson will become the Deliveroo site lead for Edinburgh following the acquisition.
The Cultivate offices are based in CodeBase Edinburgh, Scotland’s largest technology campus.
The business incubator has supported more than 400 tech start-ups across its three locations in Edinburgh, Stirling and Aberdeen.
Stephen Coleman, CEO of CodeBase, added: “Cultivate have always been at the centre of the tech scene in Edinburgh and has supported events and initiatives across the board.
“We are really pleased for the Cultivate team and Deliveroo’s plans to grow here in Scotland and are looking forward to having one of Europe’s top tech companies based here at CodeBase.”