A popular UK fast food chain has begun closing multiple restaurants this month as it restructures following serious financial difficulties. Leon, which has built its reputation on natural, fast-casual food such as halloumi burgers, salads, and waffle fries, has struggled to maintain profitability in recent years despite a loyal customer base. The chain, which entered administration earlier this month, has brought in Quantuma to manage its recovery and long-term strategy, and has now confirmed plans to close around 20 restaurants and cut jobs.
The closures follow the co-founder’s repurchase of the business from Asda in October 2025, four years after it was sold to EG Group in a deal reportedly worth £100 million. John Vincent said: “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.”
Mr Vincent said the company was losing about £10m a year.
He said: “Today for every pound we receive from the customer, around 36p goes to the government in tax, and about 2p ends up in the hands of the company. It’s why most players are reporting big losses.”
Mr Vincent explained that the top priority is to close the restaurants that are performing the worst financially. For some sites, alternative brands will take over the leases, while at others, the company will seek agreements with landlords to end their rental obligations.
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.
“We will rebuild Leon on its core values and I hope to be providing jobs to many more people once we have returned to profitability and can continue to grow again.”
Leon employs approximately 1,000 people working in Leon restaurants and has not yet confirmed how many roles will be impacted. The company has stated it will first attempt to redeploy staff to other branches that remain open. For those unable to be placed within Leon, a scheme has been established in partnership with Pret A Manger, allowing affected employees to apply for positions at the coffee chain.
The chain has already closed around seven of its restaurants earlier this month and the majority of them were located in London.
Full list of the Leon restaurants that have closed their doors for good
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LEON Tongham – Tongham, Surrey
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LEON Notting Hill – Notting Hill Gate, London
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LEON ASDA (Milton Keynes) – Inside the Asda store in Bletchley, Milton Keynes
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LEON Shepherd’s Bush – Westfield London, Shepherd’s Bush, London
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LEON Richmond – George Street, Richmond upon Thames, London
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LEON Chancery Lane (High Holborn) – High Holborn, central London
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LEON Cheapside – Cheapside, London
