Gousto

Meal-kit delivery / food e-commerceUK

New to Unitard

✂️ Markdown

Peak $1.7 BillionToday

~-82%

from peak

🦄
Became a unicorn
Nov 2020
📈
Peak valuation
$1.7 Billion ’22
💔
Became a Unitard
Feb 2023
💸
Last valuation
~$299M

Current status

Operating; founder Timo Boldt to step down as CEO and join the board (announced Sept 17, 2026), with a successor expected in the first half of 2027

The rise & fall

9 moments · 2012–2026

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

Apr 2012

Founded in London by Timo Boldt and James Carter

Two former finance colleagues start a recipe-box service; Dragons' Den turns them down in 2013.

Wikipedia

Nov 2 ’20

Lockdown surge makes it a unicorn$1B

A £25M investment from existing backers Perwyn and BGF values Gousto at over $1B.

CityAM

Jan 7 ’22

The peak: SoftBank Vision Fund 2 leads at $1.7B$1.7B

$150M in all: $100M of equity from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and $50M of debt from Barclays and HSBC.

UKTN

Feb 7 ’23

A £50M share sale at a significant discount

Sky News reports the raise from existing investors; the size of the discount is not yet known.

Grocery Gazette

Feb 23 ’23

Valuation cut below $300M — joins the Unitard Club 💔

New M shares are sold at £36.93, against £298.60 in January 2022. Sky News puts the valuation at less than $300M (£250M).

Companies House

Mar 9 ’23

Small shareholders shut out of the discounted round

Sky's Mark Kleinman writes that the round came at an 80% discount and gives new money a 3x preferred return; investors holding just under 10% were not offered shares.

CityAM

2022–24

From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2022–24

Glassdoor ratings fell from about 4.8 stars in 2020 to 3.2-3.6 in 2022-24 as reviewers described redundancies after rapid hiring and faulted senior leadership; most praised colleagues, and ratings recovered in 2025.

May 13 ’26

Sales return to growth in 2025

Revenue rises 10% to £342M and adjusted EBITDA reaches a record £45M, the third straight profitable year.

Grocery Gazette

Sep 17 ’26

Timo Boldt to step down as CEO after 15 years

The founder will join the board; a new chief executive is expected in the first half of 2027.

Grocery Gazette

💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

Gousto, a London meal-kit company founded in 2012 by Timo Boldt and James Carter, delivers boxes of recipes and measured ingredients to subscribers. Lockdown demand made it a unicorn in November 2020. In January 2022 SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a $150M financing, including $100M of equity, at a $1.7B valuation.

As demand faded, Gousto cut about 14% of its staff. In February 2023 it raised about £50M from existing shareholders, and Sky News reported that the round valued it at less than $300M. Its Companies House filing shows the new shares were sold at £36.93 each, against £298.60 in January 2022. It has since reported three straight years of adjusted profit, and in September 2026 Boldt said he would step down as chief executive.

Source: CityAM (Nov 2, 2020): £25M from Perwyn and BGF at over $1B. UKTN (Jan 7, 2022): $150M financing, $100M equity from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 plus $50M debt from Barclays and HSBC, at $1.7B (£1.25B). Grocery Gazette (Feb 7, 2023), citing Sky News: about £50M share sale to existing investors at a significant discount. Sky News (Mark Kleinman, Feb 2023, via London Daily syndication): valuation cut to less than $300M (£250M), plus £20M of debt and a cut of about 14% of staff; the drop is keyed to that figure. Companies House SH01 (SCA Investments Ltd, filed Mar 7, 2023): 1,353,909 Ordinary M shares allotted Feb 1-23, 2023 at £36.93 (about £50M), versus £298.60 per L share in the Jan 2022 allotment; 6,483,335 shares in issue after the round, about £239M ($288M at the ECB rate for Feb 23, 2023) at the new price. CityAM (Kleinman, Mar 9, 2023): new money carries a 3x preferred return. Grocery Gazette (May 13, 2026): 2025 revenue up 10% to £342M.

Founders

Timo Boldt
co-founder & CEO (led at peak; stepping down, successor due H1 2027)
Still there — Founder and CEOLinkedIn ↗
James Carter
co-founder
Now Exploring new ideas at -----LinkedIn ↗