Just Eat cooks up £3.5m investment for Time Out associate tech group Flypay
Takeaway giant Just Eat has funnelled a £3.5m investment into Time Out associate tech company Flypay.
The mobile payment app is part of Time Out's strategy to monetise local businesses and plays an "important role" in its strategy to transform into a global multi-media and entertainment business.
Time Out, which recently listed on London's junior market, will now hold a 38 per cent stake in Flypay following the Just Eat investment.
The new investment push will accelerate growth plans for its new "Flyt" technology platform, which enables B2B integration between numerous technology-based services in the hospitality sector, such as bookings, payments and delivery.
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Time Out chief exec Julio Bruno said:
We invested in Flypay because it's a hugely innovative company. The ecosystem being built by Flypay is expanding fast and the investment by such a pioneering company as Just Eat proves just how valuable this business and its growth opportunity is.
For Time Out this is a strategic investment in the future of our mobile B2B solutions for enterprise and hospitality clients. We believe it will enable us to integrate more closely with partners in the leisure and hospitality space and this will allow us to monetise businesses – one of our key strategic objectives.
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Although most people (especially Londoners) associate Time Out with its magazine and guide books, it is quickly diversifying into the live events sphere.
It is close to signing a deal for a new flagship London food market, thought to be around King's Cross, Covent Garden or Camden. This follows the success of its existing food venue in Lisbon, opened in May 2014, and a market due to open in Porto in the second half of next year.