Foodtech Giant Zomato Shutters Czech Subsidiary Lunchtime

Zomato will be liquidating its Czech Republic-based subsidiary, Lunchtime, the listed foodtech giant said in an exchange filing.

“Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Listing Regulations, we wish to submit that Lunchtime.cz s.r.o. (“Lunchtime”), step down subsidiary of Zomato Limited (“the Company”) situated in Czech Republic has initiated the process of liquidation on September 01, 2023,” said Zomato.

According to the foodtech giant, Lunchtime had no active business operations. The subsidiary is valued at INR 28.2 Lakhs and has zero turnover or contribution to Zomato’s net worth.

Zomato has been shuttering non-performing subsidiaries across the world to focus more on the Indian market.

This year, Zomato has already closed subsidiaries in Indonesia, Portugal, and Jordan, as well as announcing a planned exit from the Philippines. Most of these subsidiaries were non-operational.

Currently, Zomato only has active operations in India and the UAE. In November 2022, Kuwait-based foodtech startup Talabat shut down Zomato’s food delivery unit in the UAE, which it acquired for a reported $172 Mn in 2019.

The Indian foodtech continues to offer restaurant discovery and dining-out services in the UAE.

At the start of the year, Zomato said it pulled out of 225 cities in the country owing to poor performance. In a shareholder letter, Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal said the foodtech exited around 225 smaller cities in January, which contributed 0.3% of our GOV (gross order value) in Q3FY23 (October-December).

The foodtech major also introduced a platform fee ranging from INR 1 to INR 3 per order to better monetise and sustain operations in smaller cities. Zomato’s monetisation and cost-cutting efforts saw it post a profit of INR 2 Cr for the June quarter of FY24, a feat it achieved for the first time. 

Last week, Tiger Global and SoftBank sold shares they held in the foodtech giant, with the former completely exiting the startup, prompting a jump in Zomato’s share price.

Zomato shares have been buoyant on the bourses over the past few months, hitting a 52-week high of INR 102.85 apiece last month. At 1:15 PM on Monday (September 4), the foodtech’s shares were trading at INR 98.05 on the BSE, slightly higher than Friday’s close.