Fast food chain begins closing restaurants this month – full list | UK | News
A popular fast food chain in the United Kingdom has begun closing a number of restaurants this month as it restructures following serious financial difficulties. Leon, which gained its fame with natural, fast-food dishes such as halloumi burgers, salads and waffle fries, has struggled to maintain profitability in recent years despite its loyal customer base. The chain, which went into administration earlier this month, hired Quantuma to manage its recovery and long-term strategy, and has now confirmed plans to close and cut jobs around 20 restaurants.
The closures come after the co-founder bought the business back 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 colleagues, you will see that everyone is facing challenges, with companies reporting significant losses due to working patterns and increasingly unsustainable taxes.”
Mr Vincent said the company was losing around £10 million a year.
He said: “Today, for every pound we receive from the customer, around 36p goes to the government in tax and around 2p goes to the company. That’s why most players are reporting huge losses.”
Mr. Vincent declared that the top priority was to close the worst-performing restaurants financially. For some sites, alternative brands will take over the leases, while in others the company will enter into agreements with landlords to end lease obligations.
He added: “Over the last two years Asda have had bigger things to fish for and Leon was a business they always felt didn’t fit their strategy.
“We will rebuild Leon on its core values and I hope to provide jobs for many more people when we return to profitability and can continue to grow again.”
Leon employs around 1,000 people at its Leon restaurants and is yet to confirm how many roles will be affected. The company stated that it will first attempt to place its staff in other branches that remain open. For those unable to be placed in Leon, a scheme has been created in partnership with Pret A Manger to allow affected employees to apply for positions at the coffee chain.
The chain closed around seven of its restaurants earlier this month, the majority of which were located in London.
Complete list of 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) – Interior of 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 Cheap Side – Cheap Side, London
