RIO Ferdinand has revealed how a dinner with friends led to him investing in a Manchester-based delivery business.
The former United and England footballer says becoming an investor in DeliveryApp earlier this year has given him an 'extra' reason to visit the city outside of football.
Speaking exclusively to the M.E.N., the TV pundit said the idea of investing in the company was pitched to him over a dinner with co-founder Lance Jones and Mark Stott, the owner of Stockport County and property developer Vita Group.
The company is based at Bonded Warehouse and run by chief executive Dwain McDonald, the long-serving CEO of parcel delivery giant DPD.
"We met up for dinner and DeliveryApp was presented to me and I just love it," Rio said.
"I think it's a great model and there is a real need for a driver-friendly proposition which also brings a bit of transparency in terms of deliveries and getting things from A to B."
Delivery App has a growing number of employees and its customers have included the likes of Wren Kitchens, DPD and Dreams.
As well as CEO Dwain McDonald, the company's top team includes co-founder and chief operations officer Gemma Taylor and co-founder Lance Jones as executive chairman.
Rio also said the team that runs DeliveryApp was a major factor in his decision to back the business.
He said: "I do quite a lot of tech investing and I love the team behind DeliveryApp, which is an important factor when I'm investing.
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