JUST EAT lowered profit guidance for the year yesterday and is mulling the sale of its US arm Grubhub.

The delivery service said that "management is currently, together with its advisers, actively exploring the introduction of a strategic partner into and/or the partial or full sale of Grubhub".

"There can be no certainty that any such strategic actions will be agreed or what the timing of such agreements will be," Just Eat added.

The firm picked up Grubhub just last year in a deal worth more than £5bn, but US competition from outfits like Door Dash has made for a challenging retail envirionment stateside.

Ruth Griffin, retail partner at Gowling WLG, said it was "a salient reminder" of the challenges firms faced when eyeing expansion.

The delivery service said it aims to reach positive adjusted ebitda for the full year 2023, after continuing the same level of orders during lockdown restrictions.

In a quarterly update, Just Eat Takeaway.com said it processed 264m orders, roughly flat compared with the same period in 2021.

However, the delivery service said gross transaction value (GTV) would grow by mid-single digit year-on-year in 2022.

This had previously been in the mid-teens.

Jitse Groen, CEO of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said: "Our priority for 2022 lies in enhancing profitability and strengthening our business.

"We expect profitability to gradually improve throughout the year, and to return to positive adjusted ebitda in 2023."

Higher average transaction values in the first quarter saw GTV total €7.2bn (£5.9bn), up four per cent compared with the same period of 2021.

Just Eat shares closed up just over two per cent yesterday afternoon.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper