Deliveroo has been in the black for the past six months, its founder Will Shu has said, clearing a path for a float in the early next year.

The food delivery company, which is backed by Amazon, now makes 10pc of its UK revenues from grocery orders from food retailers Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Aldi and Co-op after a surge in demand during the pandemic.

After years of losses as it expanded around the world, Deliveroo started turning a profit during the first lockdown, the Telegraph revealed in August.

Mr Shu told the Web Summit conference: “We’ve demonstrated our model is profitable. We’ve been profitable at the operating level for over six months now.” He added its UK business had doubled in size over the last year.

The chief executive said Deliveroo would also aggressively grow its dark kitchens business, Deliveroo Editions, with the aim of more than doubling the number of sites over the next 12 months. Its Editions kitchens allow restaurants to offer their menus in areas where they do not have a physical site. Deliveroo currently has 32 Editions sites.

The London headquartered company uses freelance riders to deliver takeaways ordered through its app or from restaurants online.

Mr Shu’s remarks come as Deliveroo gears up for an expected float early next year. It has appointed Claudia Arney as its first independent chair and is reported to be working with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs on a potential listing that could value it as much as £3bn. Deliveroo has declined to comment on the plans.

Takeaways enjoyed a boost during lockdown as more restaurants turned to deliveries for the first time, boosting revenues for food delivery apps. It also caused a surge in demand for grocery delivery, with many services overwhelmed by interest early in the pandemic.

Mr Shu said: “What we have seen from Covid is the importance of online food delivery has grown hugely as well. Our initial analysis indicates Covid-19 has accelerated consumer adoption of these delivery services by about two or three years.”

He added: “More than ever, restaurants will need a delivery network they can rely on to serve their customers.”

Investor appetite for food delivery is likely to be tested over the next few months. Doordash, a US food delivery app similar to Deliveroo, is seeking $32bn in a US initial public offering, more than double its private valuation earlier this year.

More established companies are also hungry for deals, with FTSE 100 firm Just Eat Takeaway snapping up US rival Grubhub and Uber buying completing a deal to buy delivery company Postmates this week.

Deliveroo has been forced to trim costs over the last two years, pulling out of unprofitable markets such as Germany, after spending heavily. Its latest accounts for 2018 showed a loss of £232m.