Deliveroo delivered a strong fourth quarter, fuelled by grocery growth, new partnerships and retail expansion, despite the challenging market.

In the last quarter of 2024, the rapid delivery service experienced a 6% rise in total sales, while in the UK specifically, sales grew 9%, with growth orders accelerating to 5%.

Deliveroo now expects its adjusted EBITDA to be within the top-end of the £110 to £130 million range.

Among other drivers, the firm’s founder and chief executive Will Shu thanked the company’s performance on growth in its grocery division and retail expansion.

Shu said: “I’m proud of our progress in 2024 as we continued to strengthen our consumer value proposition.

“We enhanced our loyalty programmes, delivered strong growth in grocery and secured new partnerships to expand our retail selection, enabling us to bring even more of the neighbourhood to consumers’ doors.”

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The CEO’s comments follow recent retail partnerships with leading UK supermarkets, including teaming up with Morrisons in August to expand its delivery partnership to c-stores, while in that same month upmarket grocer Waitrose launched its first “delivery hatch” to extend Deliveroo hours.

In June, the food delivery business also launched a new loyalty programme, named Plus Diamond – an exclusive subscription offer providing priority delivery and enhanced service for its top customers.

Shu added: “Our continued execution has driven improved frequency and retention in Q4, with order growth improving throughout the year in UKI.

“Our execution has also continued to deliver profitable growth, with EBITDA expected to be towards the top end of our guided range. We see many exciting opportunities ahead with significant growth potential for Deliveroo.”

The rapid delivery firm’s result come after it reported “strong growth” in the first half of 2024, hitting a profit of it £1.3m, compared to a loss of £83m the previous year.