From attention to confidence
Deliveroo’s 2024 financial results offered a useful counterpoint to the more difficult stories in the market. In March 2025, Reuters reported that the company achieved its first year of profit and positive free cashflow, moving to a £2.9 million profit from a £31.8 million loss the year before. That shift matters because positive cashflow changes what a leadership team can do next.
When a business starts generating cash consistently, it gains options. It can invest with more confidence, absorb bumps in trading more effectively and make decisions from a position of greater control. That does not mean the hard work is over. It means the business is no longer relying on momentum alone to support its ambitions.
A world of possibility
For CFOs, the lesson is that cashflow improvement is one of the clearest markers of operational discipline. For CEOs, it is a sign that the business is more about building resilience than chasing arbitrary growth.
This is of particular importance for British firms trading internationally. Revenue growth can look encouraging on paper, but if margins are exposed to currency volatility or cash conversion remains weak, the business may still be more fragile than it appears. Strong cashflow is a strategic asset that opens up a world of possibility.
The key question
If your business is growing internationally, the key question isn't how much revenue is coming in, but how much control you have over the cash that supports it.
