Leon enters administration, closes 22 restaurants and cuts 244 jobs

Leon has closed 22 restaurants and cut 244 roles after entering administration in December, administrators Quantuma Advisory said, leaving the fast-food chain with 573 staff. The move follows mounting losses and a wave of restructuring across the business founded in London in 2004.

Quantuma’s update reported heavy financial losses across recent years, with Leon recording losses of £12.5m in 2023, £8.3m in 2024 and almost £10m on draft figures for 2025. Quantuma’s statement also said the current headcount of 573 represents a substantial reduction as the administrators implement a restructuring plan to stabilise the estate.

A partial list of the 22 sites named in reporting includes Tongham in Surrey, Notting Hill Gate in London, the ASDA outlet in Milton Keynes, Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush, George Street in Richmond, Chancery Lane in High Holborn, Cheapside in London, Brixton Road in London, Brighton North Street, Manchester Piccadilly and Wimbledon Hill Road. That list of affected branches was published by LBC; administrators have not published a single canonical list of all 22 closures in the materials circulated so far.

The company’s ownership history has been turbulent. Leon was sold to EG Group, the Asda owner, in 2021 and co‑founder John Vincent bought the business back in October last year. The repurchase price was reported to be in the region of £30m to £50m by some outlets, after an earlier sale four years ago was reported at £100m.

John Vincent, who led the buyback, blamed broader trading conditions and policy pressures for the chain’s decline. Vincent said the business had drifted from purpose and that government levies were squeezing margins, stating that Leon had moved away from its "core values" and pointing to "increasingly unsustainable taxes." He added: "In the last two years, Asda had bigger fish to fry, and Leon was always a business they didn't feel fitted their strategy." Vincent has also said he hopes to be "providing jobs to many more people once we have returned to profitability and can continue to grow again."

Leon set out measures for affected staff, saying: "In the first instance, we will look to find people roles in other Leon restaurants. Where that is not possible, for example, if there is no Leon restaurant within commuting distance, people will receive redundancy payments." The company also put in place a route for impacted employees to apply for roles at Pret A Manger as part of its mitigation efforts.

At its peak in 2022, Leon operated around 85 restaurants in Britain and internationally and built a reputation for halloumi burgers, waffle fries and "naturally fast" Mediterranean-inspired menus. Administrators Quantuma Advisory are managing the next stages of the process; their update provides the staffing and loss figures so far while further verification of the full list of closures and final accounts remains pending.