Fine-dining meal-delivery business Providoor has collapsed and will enter liquidation on Friday, with founder Shane Delia saying he wished the business was able to weather challenging economic times in the hospitality sector.

In a note on the company’s website on Friday, Delia, who founded Providoor during Melbourne’s first pandemic lockdowns in 2020, told consumers the group had stopped accepting orders immediately.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the closure of Providoor, a business borne out of the very worst days the hospitality industry has ever seen,” he said.

“Later today, Providoor will be formally placed into liquidation.”

Delia, whose restaurant portfolio includes his flagship Middle Eastern restaurant Maha, launched Providoor in 2020 when he recruited a group of well-known eateries to help deliver high-quality restaurant meals to diners when COVID-19 restrictions prevented them from going to restaurants.

Customers were able to order meal kits from venues such as Supernormal and Tipo 00 that were required minimal at-home preparation to be completed.

Providoor delivered across Melbourne and Sydney and expanded to Brisbane at the start of 2022.

Delia said on Friday that even when lockdowns lifted, the service was still popular.