A major UK fast food chain, Leon, has confirmed the closure of 23 restaurants across the country as part of a significant company-wide restructuring. The chain entered administration in December last year, just before Christmas, with administrators BTG Begbies Traynor and Quantuma appointed by co-founder and owner John Vincent to explore future options for the business.
Now, Vincent has injected more than £2.5 million of his own funds back into the company, but 23 branches are set to close. Speaking to The Grocer, Vincent said: “I would like to thank everyone inside and outside Leon who has helped over the last few months as we have undergone a painful but necessary restructuring to secure the company’s future.”
He added: “We have now reached the point where the company can exit administration and continue its rejuvenation as a smaller but more sustainable company devoted to serving wonderful food to its customers. There is a lot of affection for Leon, and I am committed to working on behalf of our guests, teams and suppliers to make the company what people want it to be.”
Previously, Vincent expressed his desire to run Leon “as a family business, almost like running your own corner shop,” driven by a “founder’s mentality” and a hands-on approach. He warned that “the average player in this market is going to go bankrupt,” suggesting that only those outperforming on revenue will survive.
Vincent also criticized the Labour government for “taxing businesses to extinction” and “creating the opposite of growth.” The survival plan for Leon focuses on being “massively differentiated” and niche, rather than ubiquitous. “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 don’t want to be the biggest,” he stated. “Every Leon should be magical. I want to be a beacon of what’s possible.”
