Leon ‘could grow to 100 restaurants’ after restructuring

Leon founder John Vincent has said the restaurant group will return to expansion after its restructure with plans to grow to 100 sites over the next four years.

 

Last week the healthy fast food chain appointed administrators as part of a turnaround plan after Vincent bought it back from Asda last month.

 

Leon initially said all its 71 restaurants would remain open but sites in Manchester, Brighton and London have already shut their doors.

 

According to an interview with Vincent in the Guardian, once Leon has exited unprofitable sites it will focus on its 29 owned restaurants in London.

 

Some locations, including those in service stations across the country, will continue to be operated by franchisees.

 

Vincent said Leon would then resume opening new locations following a revamp of its brand, staff training and menu, which could see it reach 100 sites by 2030.

 

The group is also scrapping its coffee subscription scheme at the end of the year due to concerns it was lowering the quality of drinks and placing extra pressure on staff.

 

He told the Guardian: “Leon has to be niche: it can’t be on every high street. We want to be the best food company in the world but we don’t want to be the biggest,” he says.

 

“Every Leon should be magical. I want to be a beacon of what’s possible.”

 

Vincent co-founded Leon in 2004 and sold the business to petrol forecourt operator EG Group for a rumoured £100m in 2021. It has been owned by Asda since 2023.

 

Turnover at Leon fell from £64.9m in 2023 to £62.4m in 2024, although pre-tax losses shrank from £12.5m to £8.4m during the same period.

 

Under the current plan, Leon will exit administration after restructuring via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) early next year.