hungryhouse.co.uk was an online takeaway food order and delivery service founded in 2006 and merged with

Just Eat Just Eat (formerly known legally as Just Eat plc) is an online food order and delivery brand of Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway.com, and a former food delivery company. Just Eat was founded as a separate company in 2001 in Kolding, Denmark ...

in 2018. It allowed users to search for restaurants and browse local takeaway menus before placing an order online and being delivered by the restaurant with a small service charge for using their service. In January 2013, the company was bought by Berlin-based holding company

Delivery Hero Delivery Hero is a German multinational online food-delivery service based in Berlin, Germany. The company operates in 50+ countries internationally in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and partners with 500,000+ restaurants. Deli ...

. As of mid-2016, Hungryhouse claimed over 10,000 restaurant partners on its platform and operated in most major cities across the UK. In February 2018, Hungry House became part of Just Eat following a successful merger. Hungry House ceased trading on 22 May 2018 and customers were diverted to Just Eat.

History

Co-founders Shane Lake and Tony Charles founded Hungryhouse in 2003, launching the online platform in 2006. The co-founders appeared on BBC1’s investment show ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...

'' in 2007, with an offer of £100,000 investment coming from

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

and

Duncan Bannatyne Duncan Walker Bannatyne, (born 2 February 1949) is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, and property. He is most famous for his appearance as a business an ...

. The investment deal with the Dragons later collapsed, with a £150,000 investment coming from alternative business angels. The initial round of funding was used to expand the business, increasing Hungryhouse’s restaurant partners from 150 in 2007 to 2,500 in September 2010. In February 2013, it was announced that Hungryhouse was to be bought by the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

-based food ordering giant

, which operates in 16 countries and has a total of 60,000 restaurant partners. In December 2016,

announced that it was acquiring Hungryhouse from

for £200 million (with the possibility of a further £40 million if the company hits performance targets), subject to regulatory approval. In May 2017, the proposed acquisition was referred to an in-depth phase 2 investigation by the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the competition regulator in United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-com ...

(CMA). On 12 October 2017, CMA gave a preliminary approval for Just Eat to acquire its smaller rival. In April 2018, Hungry House announced it would cease trading on 22 May 2018 and merge with Just Eat.

References

{{Online food ordering Online food ordering Online retailers of the United Kingdom Food and drink companies based in London Food and drink companies established in 2006 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2018 Retail companies established in 2006 Retail companies disestablished in 2018 Internet properties established in 2006 Internet properties disestablished in 2018 2013 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions Defunct companies based in London