HAVE you ever had late-night chocolate cravings but been too tired to nip to the shop?

Those unsatisfied evenings will be over if young Hove entrepreneurs George and Fam Francis, 22 and 25, have anything to say about it.

The Portland Road brothers are the founders of Runner UK, a 24-hour grocery delivery app they started while studying law at the University of Greenwich.

The firm has won over dozens of customers across Brighton thanks to its half-hour delivery times.

But what could be the city’s next delivery empire started as side job for George.

“I was at uni and wanted to start something new,” he said.

“I started off two years ago by putting posters all around my campus with my number and WhatsApp on.

“There was nothing like it at the time, especially doing 24-hour deliveries.

“We ended up with 50 orders in two weeks and that was proof of concept.

“To be honest lots of my friends were like ‘it’s not a good idea’.

“But you can’t argue with the numbers.”

George soon dropped out of university to spend more time making Runner UK a reality.

But the gamble has paid dividends for the brothers.

“When we brought it down to Brighton it started getting really popular and it got a bit more difficult,” George said.

“Me and my brother were doing about 25 deliveries a day all across Brighton and Hove.

“We started on our bikes.

“But then we got motorbikes and now we’re driving cars.”

The brothers now work with four independent shops and ten self-employed couriers to deliver all manner of goodies to Brighton residents.

They even donate five per cent of their monthly profits to charities across the city.

Though Runner UK caters for all sorts, the app has proved especially popular among one group.

“We mostly get students ordering alcohol,” George said.

“But we get lots of local customers who order their weekly shop.

“Now we have a few elderly customers we shop for too.

“Services like ours can be essential for them.”

So what is next in store for the brothers-turned-business partners?

A store, they hope.

“Now we’re planning to buy a small supermarket of our own,” George said.

“We’d like to open it next month, it’ll be another part of the Runner UK business.

“Right now I’m just going with the flow.

“I’m just a kid but it seems to be working well.”

But whatever lies ahead for Runner UK, for George and Fam, family comes first.

“Me and my brother don’t really have a business relationship,” George said.

“My family’s always been supportive.”

“It’s all natural.”

Runner UK is available to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.