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YouLend and Just Eat Takeaway have provided more than €150 million in financing to restaurants and takeaways across seven European markets, supporting more than 13,500 financings since launch.
The partnership covers the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Poland. Returning merchants accounted for more financing activity than first-time borrowers, suggesting many businesses have used the funding more than once.
The programme began in the UK in 2022 and was later extended to other European markets. It launched as restaurants and takeaways were dealing with inflation, higher energy bills and the pandemic's effects on trading conditions.
By placing the financing offer on the Just Eat platform, eligible merchants can apply through a digital process rather than a standard bank lending process. The funding has been used for short-term cash needs, equipment, staff, and additional sites.
Repeat borrowing
The companies pointed to repeated use as one of the clearest signs of the product's evolution. Rather than being used only in periods of stress, some merchants now draw on the financing as part of regular business planning.
Leonard Strigel, General Manager Europe at YouLend, said the pattern of repeat borrowing reflected a longer-term shift in how some hospitality businesses manage expansion and cash flow.
"A single financing decision changes little. A financing relationship that lasts for years changes a great deal," said Leonard Strigel, General Manager Europe at YouLend.
"When a restaurant takes financing with us ten times over four years, it is no longer just a loan - it becomes part of its growth strategy. That is exactly what embedded finance is built for," Strigel said.
For Just Eat Takeaway, the arrangement adds a financial service to a platform that restaurants already use for orders and customer access. It has given thousands of merchants a quicker route to capital than they might otherwise have found through traditional lenders.
Bart van der Veldt, Director Strategy & Planning Commercial at Just Eat Takeaway, said the funding offer had become a more regular feature for many businesses on the platform.
"Supporting our partners means more than connecting them with customers - it means giving them the tools to grow sustainably," said Bart van der Veldt, Director Strategy & Planning Commercial at Just Eat Takeaway.
"Embedding financing with YouLend into our platform has allowed thousands of restaurants across Europe to access capital quickly and on their terms. The repeat usage we're seeing shows that this isn't just crisis support - it's become infrastructure," van der Veldt said.
Wider market
The announcement reflects the broader rise of embedded finance in Europe, where non-bank financial products are increasingly offered through software, eCommerce and payments platforms. In hospitality, where smaller operators often face uneven cash flow and limited credit histories, platform-based financing has become one way to reach businesses that can struggle to meet mainstream lending requirements.
YouLend specialises in this model and works with major technology and commerce platforms, including Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Etsy, SumUp, Tide and Intuit QuickBooks. It operates in more than 10 countries and has provided more than 400,000 financings overall.
Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway has 362,000 connected partners across its markets. It operates in several European countries, as well as in Canada and Israel, and its network includes restaurants and retail merchants.
The figures in the partnership update suggest that restaurants and takeaways remain an active market for embedded lending, particularly when access is tied to a platform merchants already use day-to-day. More than half of the partnership's financing activity has come from returning merchants rather than first-time borrowers.