The chief executive of Just Eat is leaving the UK food delivery company amid competition from rival apps, alongside calls from a shareholder to speed up decision-making and consider the sale of non-core assets.
Peter Plumb is stepping down with immediate effect, with Peter Duffy, chief customer officer, being appointed as interim CEO. In December, shareholder Cat Rock Capital Management recommended Just Eat’s board consider selling its minority stake in Brazilian start-up iFood, arguing it could generate up to £650 million (Dh3.06 billion) that could potentially be returned to investors.
Shares in Just Eat fell as much as 5.8 per cent in early trading Monday.
Mr Plumb was appointed to the top role in mid-2017 with a target of getting the company in the FTSE 100, a target achieved in December that year. However, over 2018 shares fell 26.2 per cent after facing increasing competition from new rivals including Deliveroo and Uber Eats, causing the company to fall out of the FTSE 100 last month.
In December 2016, Just East claimed to be the first firm in the world to deliver a take-away meal by robot in a partnering with Starship Technologies, an Estonia-based robotics start-up created by Skype’s founders, to trial drone deliveries using a small six-wheeled sidewalk bot in London.
The company is facing competition today from the likes of the food delivery operation of Uber Technologies, which is looking to expand how users can pay for meals and generate more business via its website rather than its app - a key part of Just Eat’s business.
“The business is in good health,” said Mr Plumb, “Now is the right time for me to step aside and make way for a new leader.”
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Just Eat also posted a trading update Monday, with full year 2018 orders of £221m and revenue of £780m. The company previously saw revenue of £740m and £770m pounds. Guidance for 2019 is revenue of £1bn to £1.1bn, and underlying earnings before tax in the range of £185m to £205m.
Just Eat said that it expects its Latin American operations, dominated by its stake in iFood, to report an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) loss in the range of £80m to £100m. Just Eat added that it expects to grow marketplace ebitda margins year on year and for its Canadian business, SkipTheDishes, to report its first full year profit in 2019.
Cat Rock, a small hedge fund with around $850m under management, has a stake of about $50m, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Just Eat will provide further detail on its plans at its full year 2018 results on March 6.
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
