The Chinese city has seen growing competition in the food-delivery services market following the 2023 entry of KeeTa, an app by Chinese e-commerce giant Meituan, which surpassed Deliveroo in order volume within a year.

The British company said Monday it had "nominated liquidators to manage closure of the Hong Kong business and the remainder of its assets in the most efficient way possible", with the platform remaining live until April 7.

The firm said its "commitment to disciplined capital allocation", along with "several dynamics specific to the Hong Kong market", led the board to determine that it would not serve shareholders' interests to keep doing business in the city.

Deliveroo will close its operations by selling some assets to Singaporean firm foodpanda and by closing other assets, the company said in a statement.

Founded in London, Deliveroo entered the Hong Kong market in 2015 as part of its first wave of international expansion a year after foodpanda landed in the city.

Deliveroo said in its 2024 interim results that Hong Kong "was a laggard amongst our major markets", citing "a more difficult market and competitive environment".

The company said Monday that Hong Kong represented five percent of the group's gross transaction value in 2024, and had a five percentage point negative impact on international gross transaction value growth.

In contrast, Delivery Hero, the Berlin-based parent of foodpanda, said in a trading update last month that it saw "strong customer growth" in Hong Kong in December.