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Catering startup serving Facebook and Buzzfeed raises £1.1m funding

Catering startup City Pantry has announced it has raised £1.1m in funding as it looks to expand its operation outside London.

The Shoreditch-based catering platform, which offers group-order catering services, has drawn investment from current investors the Angel Co Fund, The London Co Investment fund and angel investors.

Currently servicing marquee firms like Facebook, Buzzfeed and Deloitte in the capital, City Pantry is now hoping to scale its business UK and Europe-wide after growing 400% in the last 12 months.

The firm, which was founded in 2013, works with independent chefs, street vendors and local caterers to provide ‘hassle-free’ catering for workplaces and events, and now delivers over 10,000 meals a week to London offices.

Following this new funding injection, Stuart Sunderland, who founded City Pantry, said: “Our mission is to help the world’s best companies work better by eating together.

“We’re delighted to have secured this funding, which we’ll use to build on our offer in London, invest in sales, marketing and engineering, and target new cities both in the UK and across Europe.”

City Pantry grew out of the TrueStart accelerator, which announced a partnership with John Lewis this week, and Baz Saidieh, who is Chief Executive of the programme, hailed the startup as a ‘genuinely innovative business’ and described them as ‘one to watch’.

The London business is one of a number of innovative businesses that is attempting to mix new technological innovations with food delivery and hospitality, in a space that includes Deliveroo and UberEATS.

Investment Director at the Angel CoFund, Tim Mills thinks that the B2B-focus of City Pantry is what separates it from some of its rivals and has been a big factor in its success.

He commented: “The food delivery market is an exciting space that has already spawned a number of high growth businesses in London.

“What is really compelling about City Pantry is the B2B nature of its model, which gives corporate customers access to exciting and differentiated menus for the first time and affords the team a more stable order cycle, building a good foundation from which to scale the business.”

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