Major fast food chain Leon has slashed 244 jobs after collapsing into administration in December. The popular restaurant chain, famed for its halloumi burgers and waffle fries, was forced to shut 22 locations following the collapse.
However, there seems to be no respite on the horizon yet, as an update from administrators Quantuma Advisory said the company now has just 573 staff. It had losses of £12.5million in 2023, £8.3million in 2024, and almost £10million on draft figures for 2025. The chain had built its reputation on natural, fast-casual food. However, the company has struggled in the wake of being sold for £100million to Asda owner, EG Group, in 2021.
At the height of its success, Leon operated 85 restaurants across the UK and internationally in 2022. Under the Issa brothers, British-Indian billionaire businessmen who founded the group, it also expanded aggressively into petrol forecourts and Asda supermarket sites.
Its co-founder, John Vincent, bought the business back from Asda in October last year. Mr Vincent blamed “increasingly unsustainable taxes” but also said Leon had moved away from its “core values”.
“In the last two years, Asda had bigger fish to fry, and Leon was always a business they didn’t feel fitted their strategy,” he said, adding that he hoped to be “providing jobs to many more people once we have returned to profitability and can continue to grow again”.
Leon previously said it would try to redeploy staff to other restaurants, offer redundancy where that is not possible and also set up a route for affected employees to apply for jobs at Pret A Manger.
Administrators have proposed a company voluntary agreement (CVA), which is a way of restructuring that means a business can continue trading by negotiating its debts. Administrators have also been negotiating with landlords for reduced rent.
Leon was founded in 2004 by John Vincent, Henry Dimbleby, and chef Allegra McEvedy. Their first outlet opened on London’s Carnaby Street with a mission to prove that “fast food” didn’t have to mean “junk food”. They called it “naturally fast food,” focusing on Mediterranean-inspired, seasonal ingredients. Within six months, it was named the “Best New Restaurant in Great Britain” by The Observer.
The founders were also heavily involved in UK food policy, with Mr Dimbleby and Mr Vincent co-authoring the Government’s School Food Plan in 2013 to improve children’s diets.