Zomato dissolves step-down subsidiary in UK

INDIA’S leading food delivery company Zomato has dissolved its step-down subsidiary in the UK in the latest closure of its international businesses.

“We wish to submit that Zomato UK Limited (ZUL), a step-down subsidiary of the company, has been dissolved effective from November 16, 2021..” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday (17).

Zomato did not cite any reason for its action and an email sent to the company was not answered till the time of writing this report.

Its dining-out business in the UAE is the only international operation the company is retaining outside India after a slew of closures in other countries.

Last week, the company had said it was shutting down its operations in Lebanon.

“We are also shutting down our operations in Lebanon, which is the only international business we were left with (other than dining-out business in UAE) after shutting down the rest of our international operations,” Business Insider quoted Zomato’s chief executive Deepinder Goyal, as saying.

As part of its “clean up drive”, the company had earlier shut down its Singapore-based Zomato Media Private Limited and the US-based subsidiary Nextable Inc.

The company’s Ireland arm has also been suspended, the report said.

Zomato’s loss widened to Rs 4.34 billion (£43 million) in the July-September quarter this year from Rs 2.29 bn (£23m) loss it reported during the same period a year ago. However, its consolidated net sales during the three months surged 140.4 per cent to Rs 10.24 bn (£100m) year-on-year.

Zomato’s shares declined 1.18 per cent to Rs 154.70 (155p) on the BSE on Thursday (18) after the company’s update on its UK operations.