Uber is Preparing to Deliver Its Food Business to Further U.K. Cities

(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. is laying the groundwork for a nationwide rollout of its UberEats service in the U.K., according to several job adverts placed online.

Three posts are available as part of a plan to roll out the service in at least three cities, according to the UberEats website. One advert calls for a general manager who would "scale and develop" the platform in either Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds. The company is also recruiting a courier operations manager to work with drivers and restaurants, with an overall aim to "take ownership of UberEats growth in your city".

The car-hailing company launched the food delivery program in North America last year and expanded the business to London two months ago. It is currently available in 18 cities around the world.

Uber's website also advertises job vacancies in a number of countries across Europe where the service has not yet launched, including Berlin, Vienna, Rome and Amsterdam. The company has not indicated a timeframe for launching the product in these cities or others in the U.K.

An Uber spokesman pointed to comments previously made by Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, head of EMEA operations, who said the company was "very encouraged by the growth we've seen in both London and Paris and are investing heavily to bring UberEats to new cities across Europe."

The move will see Uber more aggressively take on companies already operating in the food-delivery market across the U.K. including Deliveroo, which recently raised $275 million in new funding, as well as Just Eat Plc. and GrubHub Inc. Unlike its ride-hailing service, Uber's food couriers are typically expected to make deliveries using scooters or bicycles.

Its rivals have a headstart against the company, with Deliveroo already operating in 84 cities across the globe at the time of their recent financing round.

UberEats operates as a standalone app, where individuals can order food from restaurants within a certain vicinity. Currently, U.K. users can only order food to locations in central London but the company plans to more expand across the capital.

To contact the author of this story: Siraj Datoo in London at sdatoo@bloomberg.net.