Leon, the fast food chain renowned for its halloumi and waffle fries, has announced a significant reduction in its workforce following the closure of 22 outlets nationwide. The closures have resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs.
The company, which prides itself on offering natural fast food, entered administration in December. It cited the ‘unsustainable’ tax burdens within the hospitality sector as a primary reason for its financial troubles.
According to an update from administrators Quantuma Advisory, Leon now employs 573 people, marking a reduction of 244 positions. This downsizing reflects the company’s ongoing financial challenges.
In recent years, Leon has faced substantial financial losses, with draft figures revealing deficits of £12.5 million in 2023, £8.3 million the subsequent year, and nearly £10 million in 2025.
The firm’s financial difficulties have been evident since its acquisition by EG Group, the owner of Asda, in 2021. However, in a notable turn of events last October, Leon was sold back to one of its co-founders, John Vincent, at a significant discount from the global retail conglomerate.
Last October, Leon was sold back to one of its co-founders John Vincent, at a steep discount by the global retail giant.
The two firms did not disclose the terms of the deal however, The Times reported that Vincent paid the supermarket between £30million and £50million.
This was substantially less than the £100million that the billionaire Issa brothers, Mohsin and Zuber, paid for the chain in 2021.
John Vincent (pictured with his wife Katie Derham) co-founded Leon and bought back the company from Asda’s owners, EG Group, last October
Administrators Quantuma Advisory said in an update that the restaurant currently has 573 staff. The chain has cut 244 toles and shuttered 22 locations (stock image)
The sale included 46 Leon restaurants and 20 UK franchises, as well as three franchise sites in the Netherlands and one in Italy.
Meanwhile, Mr Vincent has boiled down the firm’s current financial woes to ‘increasingly unsustainable taxes’.
‘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.
Mr Vincent hoped the chain would be able to provide ‘jobs to many more people once [they had] returned to profitability and can continue to grow again’.
But this is not the first time the Leon boss has blasted tax changes, branding Rachel Reeves’s hikes on national insurance as an ‘incredibly toxic tax regime’.
Speaking on the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast, he warned restaurants would ‘disappear’ under Labour and only those making ‘cr** food’ would survive.
The Leon boss also said antisocial Gen Z customers threaten the industry because they ‘don’t want to talk to humans, they just want to order on a screen or a phone’.
However, he suggested the increasing popularity of weight loss jabs could present an ‘opportunity’ for his faltering business.
Leon previously said it hoped to place employees in other restaurants or offer redundancy where it was not possible to do so.
The chain has also created a route for impacted members of staff to apply for roles at Pret A Manger.
Administrators have now suggested a company voluntary agreement (CVA), meaning Leon could restructure the firm and keep running by negotiating its debts.
Meanwhile, Quantuma Advisory has also been trying to broker with landlords in a bid to reduce rent.
It comes after the firm came under pressure from ‘internal challenges’, changing habits from commuters linked to the pandemic and tax increases.
After buying the business back, Mr Vincent said he planned on bringing Leon back to its roots.
‘My time away from Leon has given me new perspectives – and I’m excited by what we can achieve for people this time round,’ he added.
‘There will likely be some big decisions ahead, but first we need to take a good look under the bonnet.’
One of its other co-founders, Henry Dimbleby, had criticised Asda’s stewardship of the brand.
Last October, he accused the business of straying from its ethos of healthy and convenient food.
He told The Telegraph: ‘What they’ve gone to here is they’ve realised chips sell, air fryers sell – that’s the cheapest way to make money.
‘But in the long-term, that’s going to destroy the brand.’
Mr Vincent has now also admitted Leon was ‘always a business Asda didn’t feel fitted their strategy’. He added: ‘In the last two years, Asda had bigger fish to fry.
‘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.’
The Daily Mail has approached Leon and Quantuma for comment.
