Fri 31st Oct 2025 - Exclusive: John Vincent buys back Leon Exclusive – John Vincent buys back Leon: Leon, the naturally fast food brand, has been bought back by its co-founder and former chief executive John Vincent from Asda, in a move to “reinvigorate the business and return it to its core values”, Propel has learned. Vincent, who led the sale of Leon to EG Group in 2021, has taken the opportunity to buy back the business that he founded with his friend Henry Dimbleby and Allegra McEvedy 21 years ago with a single outlet in London’s Carnaby Street. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Two years ago, the Issa brothers sold the business to EG Group’s sister company Asda – of which Mohsin is also a shareholder – in a £2bn deal designed to ease pressure on EG Group. Now Leon, and its 71 restaurants – 44 owned and 22 franchised – is back in the hands of Vincent. He said: “Today, I have bought back Leon. For 17 years, it was the greatest gift to build a company dedicated to helping people enjoy naturally fast food. My time away from Leon has given me new perspectives – and I’m excited by what we can achieve for people this time round. There will likely be some big decisions ahead, but first we need to take a good look under the bonnet. First and foremost, we have to focus on the basic Leon promise of the best fast food served with the biggest welcome. If you are a Leon guest, I want you to know we are on the case. We will now get on with dedicating ourselves to your enjoyment and to your health. I would like to thank Asda and TDR for their stewardship of Leon and for their conduct in this deal. TDR has a strong track record of supporting food and beverage businesses in the UK and has been a pleasure to engage with during this process.” After returning to Leon in 2014 as chief executive, Vincent grew the number of restaurants from 17 to 75, and increased the value of the company to £100m. During covid, Vincent was an open critic of extended lockdowns, and Leon was the only food brand to stay open throughout the pandemic. Alongside Matt Lucas, Helen McCrory and Damien Lewis, Vincent launched FeedNHS, which ultimately provided a million meals to front-line NHS teams. From its inception, Leon served up a number of firsts, including the superfood salad and serving organic, fair trade and rainforest alliance certified coffee. The brand, which has published 23 cook books, was also a pioneer in team member well-being providing nutrition, acupuncture, reiki, massage, reflexology and meditation. Leon provides its products for sale in supermarkets, which started with a ground-breaking launch with Sainsbury’s where it created a dedicated bay for Leon products. The brand – which launches its Christmas menu on Wednesday (5 November) that includes the Twisted Trimmings Sandwich and the Baharat turkey and Aleppo cranberry bowl – has since extended distribution to Ocado, Wholefoods and Morrisons. Vincent told Propel: “This is one of the most heavily taxed sectors. Of every pound the customer pays, 32p goes straight to the government in business rates, national insurance and VAT. Given that Leon is loss-making, this is infinitely more than the company’s profit. And even if we return to industry average numbers, this taxation is 16 times the company’s profit. Making any economic returns now is very tough. There will be many problems ahead. I am lucky that there are some diamonds in Leon who will be capable of rising to these challenges. My message to the government and for the industry is this: ‘It’s close to midnight. Something evil’s lurking in the dark. Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand. We must stand and face the hounds of hell. Now it’s our job to stay alive’.” Last month, Leon reported its pre-tax losses narrowed in the year to 31 December 2024, despite the impact of train and tube strikes and the working-from-home trend, and reiterated that trading has started to settle post-covid. The business reported a pre-tax loss of £8,484,832 (2023: £19,587,309) with turnover of £62,451,975 (2023: £64,906,310). Adjusted Ebitda stood at negative £600,000 against negative Ebitda of £7.8m in the previous year. The company said: “Throughout 2024, the business saw continued recovery from covid-19. Weekly sales and footfall to our restaurants improved weekly, although the year remained challenging. The UK economy was challenging throughout 2024, with its impacts felt across consumer spending. This again led to inflationary pressures, particularly seen with electricity costs and cost of sales. Within the year, we have continued to actively control our cost base and have seen a significant reduction year on year. Industrial action, particularly rail and tube strikes, further affected the business, given the location of many Leon restaurants to transport hubs, resulted in lower footfall and sales on strike days. Furthermore, the working-from-home trend has impacted many Leon restaurants, particularly ones based in office centric locations, and these have seen a slower recovery. Management remains confident that sales will continue to recover, and this is supported by continual improvement seen throughout 2025. The net liability position at the end of the financial period totalled £30,336,099 (2023: net liability £21,958,452). Trading has started to settle post-covid. Management continues to review the existing estate performance, and explore new formats and opportunities.” In 2012, Vincent and Dimbleby co-wrote the School Food Plan for the UK government, which resulted in free school meals for all infants and new regulations on the quality of school food. Leon features in the Premium Club Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is available exclusively to Premium Club subscribers and features 1,177 companies. Leon’s turnover of £62,451,975 is the 206th highest in the database. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.