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Leon Restaurants

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Leon Restaurants Limited
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFast food
Founded2004[1]
FoundersJohn Vincent
Henry Dimbleby
Allegra McEvedy[2]
HeadquartersLondon
Number of locations
61 (April 2021)[3]
Area served
United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, United States, India
Key people
John Vincent, Chief Executive Officer
OwnerAsda
Websiteleon.co Edit this at Wikidata
Leon, King's Cross Station, London

Leon (branded as LEON.) is a fast food chain based in the United Kingdom, established in 2004. The company had around 70 outlets when it was bought by EG Group in 2021.

History

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Leon was founded by John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby with chef Allegra McEvedy.[4][5][6][7] The business was named after Vincent's father,[4][5][8] and opened its first outlet in Carnaby Street in 2004.[9][10] Six months after opening, Leon was named the "Best New Restaurant in Great Britain" at The Observer Food Monthly Awards.[8]

In 2008, Leon became a founding member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association.[11]

In March 2009, McEvedy gave up her role at Leon to focus on writing and television work, but remains a shareholder. In 2014, John Vincent took over from Henry Dimbleby as CEO, and Dimbleby then left the board in 2017. He also remains a shareholder.

By 2015 Leon had 57 restaurants.[12] In January 2015, HMSHost operated six Leon locations in airports and railway stations in southern England, and Leon announced an expansion of its relationship with HMSHost in 2018, including a franchise agreement in airports and railway stations across Europe and the Middle East.[13][14][15] The company hoped to reach an international clientele through these outlets, and help create demand ahead of further overseas openings.[16][17]

In June 2016 the first Leon outside England opened in Amsterdam.[18] Other overseas openings followed, including restaurants at Utrecht, Oslo, Gran Canaria, Dublin and Leon's first restaurant in the United States, in Washington, D.C.[19] The latter's style was described as "fast-casual Mediterranean" in the local press.[20]

The chain was named in the 2017 The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list.[21] Leon was backed by Active Private Equity and, in May 2017, Spice Private Equity became a major investor to support further global expansion plans.[citation needed]

By 2018, the company had 61 sites.[22] In the first quarter of 2019, 53% of the chain's food sales were plant-based or vegetarian.[22]

In March 2020, Leon set up the "Feed NHS" initiative to deliver 5,600 free meals a day to National Health Service critical care staff at London hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] Other restaurant chains became involved, including Franco Manca, Tortilla, Tossed, and Wasabi.[24] A JustGiving page was created to raise funds.[25]

Leon USA Inc. filed for liquidation in February 2021, citing low customer numbers because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It had three outlets in Washington and a fourth nearby in Fairfax, Virginia.[20]

Purchase by EG Group

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In April 2021, the company was sold for a reported £100 million to the Issa brothers' EG Group, which also operates fast food franchises and had recently agreed to buy a majority stake in the Asda supermarket business.[3] At that time, Leon had 71 outlets, of which 42 were operated by the company; the other 29 were franchises at transport hubs, in the UK and five other European countries.[26] In an October 2023 restructuring, EG Group sold most of its UK operations – including Leon – to Asda.[27]

Other activities

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Leon has published several cookbooks, and developed a cookware and tableware line with retailer John Lewis.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ "Vision".
  2. ^ "Founders".
  3. ^ a b "Leon: Billionaire Issa brothers buy fast food chain". BBC News. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b Evans, Simon (16 August 2009). "Henry Dimbleby: nine restaurants and growing". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b "John Vincent, co-founder, Leon Restaurants". Marketing. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  6. ^ Bordell, Tom; Jaffer, Mehdi. "If God owned McDonald's..." London: The Gateway. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Food chefs: Allegra McEvedy". London: BBC. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b Nielsen, Tina (July 2008). "Profile: Leon". Director magazine. London. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  9. ^ Restaurants, Leon. "Vision". Leonrestaurants.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  10. ^ Scott-Moncrieff, Chloe (22 January 2006). "Fast food needn't be junk food". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 4 April 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Leon co-founder to lead food system review". BBC News. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Restaurants – Leon Restaurants". Leonrestaurants.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  13. ^ Restaurants, Leon. "HMS". Leonrestaurants.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  14. ^ Central & East News (17 December 2014). "Leon Lands at Stansted". insidermedia.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  15. ^ Lysecki, Sarah. "HMSHost wins Eurotunnel and East Midlands Airport concessions". Moodiereport.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  16. ^ Burn-Callander, Rebecca. "Leon eyes US expansion". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  17. ^ "LEON launches flagship restaurant in Gran Canaria Airport". QSRMedia UK. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  18. ^ Burn-Callander, Rebecca (8 May 2016). "Healthy fast food chain Leon reveals profit leap – and its secret martial arts experiment". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Leon aims to help US 'fall back in love' with fast food". Evening Standard. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  20. ^ a b Sernovitz, Daniel J. (4 February 2021). "D.C. arm of fast-casual chain Leon files for bankruptcy". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Fast Track 100 league table 2017". The Sunday Times Fast Track. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Leon Restaurants Limited: Annual Report and Financial Statements, 2018". Companies House. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  23. ^ Butler, Sarah (27 March 2020). "Leon sets up initiative to deliver free meals to NHS critical care staff". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  24. ^ Milsom, Jennie (27 March 2020). "These amazing people need us – Leon's FeedNHS appeal for 'vital funds' hopes to raise £1m". The Caterer. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  25. ^ "Damian, Helen & Matt". JustGiving.
  26. ^ Jahshan, Elias (18 April 2021). "New Asda owner EG Group buys Leon restaurants". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  27. ^ Hunt, Simon (31 October 2023). "Issa brothers complete EG Group UK sale to Asda at a discount". Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  28. ^ "English restaurateurs share ideas for healthy cooking in 'Leon: Naturally Fast Food'". Los Angeles Daily News. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  29. ^ "LEON – John Lewis & Partners". www.johnlewis.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
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