Thu, 11 Dec 2025 | ADMINISTRATION
Fast food chain Leon is planning to close restaurants and cut jobs as part of a major restructuring after hiring administrators from Quantuma. The chain, which operates 54 restaurants across the UK, was acquired back from Asda by original co-founder John Vincent less than two months ago.
Founded in 2004 as a healthier fast food chain, Leon was acquired by Asda owners the Issa brothers in a £100 million deal in 2021, becoming part of Asda in 2023. However, the business has underperformed since then, while co-founder Henry Dimbleby recently publicly claimed that the new owners would “destroy the brand” due to reported plans to offer unhealthier food.
John Vincent subsequently re-acquired the business in October 2025 and the company is now set to enter administration after hiring advisers from Quantuma. It is hoped that the administration will help the business to manage debt payments and ultimately secure its long-term future.
Leon runs 44 company-owned restaurants, along with 22 franchised restaurants. Since John Vincent’s acquisition, 10 outlets have closed, including three overseas franchises. According to the company, an initial review of the business highlighted the need to cut the number of loss-making locations.
The firm has said it will form proposals for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) restructuring plan as it seeks to overhaul its operations. Leon and Quantuma plan to discuss their strategy with landlords, laying out options for the business’ future, with the aim of restructuring it into a leaner operation.
Under the previous ownership, the company was said to have faced pressure from “internal challenges”, tax increases and, most notably, changing commuter habits as the COVID-19 pandemic made flexible working more popular.
While sympathising with the challenges faced by the previous owners, John Vincent has said Leon had “drifted from its values”. He continued: “In the last two years, Asda had bigger fish to fry, and Leon was always a business they didn’t feel fitted their strategy.”
“If you look at the performance of Leon’s peers, you will see that everyone is facing challenges – companies are reporting significant losses due to working patterns and increasingly unsustainable taxes.”
In the year to December 31 2024, Leon Restaurants Limited reported turnover of £62.4 million, down from £64.9 million a year earlier, while operating losses fell from £17.8 million to around £6.5 million. At the time, its fixed assets were valued at £5.9 million and current assets at £6.9 million. The company’s net liabilities, however, exceeded £30.3 million.
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