Deliveroo has picked London for its initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to the one of year’s largest following an extended lockdown-driven surge in demand.

The food delivery giant’s decision comes after Rishi Sunak endorsed significant changes to listing rules, which will allow founders to have more control after public listings.

Lord Jonathan Hill, former EU financial services commissioner, published recommendations on Wednesday calling for a variety of reforms to UK listing rules.

These proposals included legalising dual class share structures, already popular in Silicon Valley among companies such as Alphabet, which allow founders to retain additional voting rights post-IPO.

Deliveroo confirmed on Thursday morning that its dual-class structure would be “closely in line” with the Hill review's recommendations.

However, the proposed changes to listing rules will likely will not come into play before Deliveroo’s IPO.

The news comes as London looks to attract more tech firms for listings, and as Amsterdam overtook London as Europe’s share trading capital in February.

Deliveroo has not disclosed any pricing information ahead of the planned IPO.

The food delivery company raised $180 million in funding at a $7 billion valuation in January, and its current backers include Amazon, Capital Partners, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, General Catalyst, Index Ventures and Accel.

“Deliveroo was born in London,” said Deliveroo chief executive Will Shu. “This is where I founded the company and delivered our first order.”

“London is a great place to live, work, do business and eat.”

He added: “That’s why I’m so proud and excited about a potential listing here.”

Stephen Kelly, chair of Tech Nation, said: “Tech unicorn Deliveroo’s £8 billion ambition to list in London signals the UK’s attractiveness for tech companies.”

“The company intends to include a time-limited dual class share structure, closely in line with the findings of Lord Hill’s UK Listing Review. It is fantastic to see the Chancellor’s plans coming into play just a day after his commitment to the sector.”

“This is an important boost for UK tech. With seven new unicorns created in 2020 alone, the U.K. now has a total of 80 scaleups valued at more than £1 billion, that is more than twice as many unicorns as Germany and France.”

He added: “We expect to see more of our home-grown success stories following suit in what is just the start of a golden age for UK tech.”

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