Deliveroo shares tumble by third on UK stock market debut

In this file photo dated Monday Feb. 15, 2021, a Deliveroo food delivery worker pushes his bike in front of restaurant in Paris. Shares in the app-based meal delivery service Deliveroo tumbled by as much as a third in their U.K. stock market debut on Wednesday March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, FILE)

LONDON (AP) — Shares of app-based meal delivery service Deliveroo tumbled by as much as a third in their U.K. stock market debut on Wednesday.

The London-based company's shares slid even after they were priced at the bottom of the potential range, reflecting investor wariness and broader market turbulence for tech-related stocks.

Demand was also hurt after a number of leading U.K. fund managers said they would abstain from investing amid concerns about working conditions for its delivery riders and its shareholder structure.

Shares in Deliveroo, which competes with Uber Eats and whose backers include Amazon, were down 30% at the start of trading from their offer price of 390 pence.

Still, Deliveroo's initial public offering is one of the biggest in Europe so far this year. The company said it raised 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion), with existing shareholders selling another 500 million pounds worth of shares, in a stock market listing that values the company at 7.6 billion pounds.

Deliveroo was founded by American ex-banker Will Shu and operates in a dozen countries in Europe and Asia. Every month more than 6 million customers order food from restaurants and shops through the Deliveroo app, according to its prospectus.

Bicycle and scooter riders lugging insulated bags in the company's signature robin’s egg blue are ubiquitous on the streets of London.