Image copyright Getty Images

Deliveroo has said it will increase its staff by a third when it opens a new London head office later this year.

The UK-based food delivery company is the latest tech firm to expand in the capital, planning to hire more than 300 "high-skilled, high-tech" recruits.

Deliveroo reported a 650% rise in takeaway orders last year.

But as it adds more office staff, the firm is coming under growing pressure to give its freelance delivery riders more workers' rights.

A group of Deliveroo couriers working for the company is seeking union recognition.

And it comes after two drivers for the Uber taxi-hailing company won a tribunal case in which they argued they were workers not contractors.

'British-born'

The four-year-old company employs more than 1,000 full-time staff and works with over 20,000 restaurants in 130 cities around the world.

"London is where I founded this company and it's from our headquarters here that we export our British-born technology around the world," said founder and chief executive Will Shu.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Deliveroo founder Will Shu (right) says it's "growing every single day"

Deliveroo has continued to report "rapid" growth in the UK and around the world, despite competing in a crowded marketplace that includes the likes of Uber, Amazon and JustEat, .

The firm has declined to break down its sales figures, although its latest accounts revealed a £18.1m loss in 2015.

The recruitment drive includes in areas such as software engineering and algorithm development.

It comes a week after Snap, the company behind messaging app Snapchat, said it had established its non-US office in London.

In November, Facebook said it would hire 500 additional employees in London, and Google committed to opening a new headquarters building in the English capital, which could see 3,000 new jobs created by 2020.